Starting Over
by kurtswish
Summary: Kurt Hummel is a high school drop out, forced from his school by bullies. He is trying to start over in New York, but he is 17 and alone. Will New York be different?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I have been in an AU mood lately. I have this one stuck in my head and another. I still haven't figured out what to do with a Sequel to What Spying Can lead to. This is more an epilogue than a real chapter. I will try and post more soon. I hope you enjoy. Please let me know what you think. **

I know that looking at my application packet, I may not seem to be a great fit for NYU. I am a seventeen year old, high school dropout from small town Ohio, after all. However, there is a lot more to me than meets the eye. I am not your average dropout. I maintained a straight A average with a near perfect attendance record. I was an involved student, with a stint on the football team as well as our National Champion Cheerleading team. My true passion though was our glee club, The New Directions. We may not have been nationally acclaimed, but we were truly a family. Not only was I involved in school, I was also rarely in trouble. After one disastrous attempt at teenage rebellion and drinking, I never was involved with drugs or alcohol. In general I was a good kid.

So why would I drop out? Since starting school, I was an outcast. First, I was just the boy who would rather sit and read than play kickball. Then I was the weird kid whose mother was dead. The older I became the worse the bullying became as well. By the time I started High School, I was being thrown into dumpsters, shoved into lockers and having slushies thrown into my face. I always knew I was different from my peers, and they could see it as well. Coming out as gay only exacerbated the situation. By that time, I had joined the Glee Club and finally had my first real set of friends. We were all targeted for being in Glee club in the first place, but I bore the brunt of the attacks. For more than a year I withstood the bullying not letting it get to me. Then, one boy made it his mission to make my life hell. At first, I thought he was like the others, just hating me for who I was. It was more than that though. He hated me, because I was everything he couldn't be. One day I confronted him, I stood up to this boy who is at least twice my size, ready to be hit once and for all. Instead, the bully kissed me. He targeted me because he couldn't come to terms with his own homosexuality.

From that moment on, he started intimidating me at every available opportunity. The school said they couldn't do anything about it. Then he threatened my life. He told me if I told anyone about the kiss he would kill me. All of this I kept from my friends and my family. My father was still recovering from a heart attack and I didn't want to cause him anymore stress. When he eventually found out about the harassment and the threat, he immediately went to the principal. She expelled him and I thought I would finally be able to enjoy school again.

I was wrong, the school board overturned his expulsion. I knew that things would just get worse. They did, not only was this boy constantly stalking me, so were his friends. I didn't even survive three more days before I knew I had to leave.

I didn't drop out to run, I dropped out so I could survive. Since the school board refused to protect me, I had to protect myself. I talked to my dad and withdrew from the school. I signed up for the next GED exam and began to work to make my dreams come true. I refuse to let the bullies win, they may have succeeded in keeping me out of school, but they will not break me or my dreams.

I'm not sharing this experience to earn your sympathy, but rather your understanding as to why I need to attend your school. I need to be in an environment where I will not automatically be hated for my sexuality. I need to be where my dreams have been for as long as I remember. I have worked hard to earn a place at NYU, I can't let the bullies take this away from me as well.

I want to double major in Fashion Design and Musical Theatre. I have included a portfolio of my designs as well as an audition tape. I hope you can look past the fact I only have a GED, and see my potential. Thank you for your consideration.

Kurt Hummel


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Here is the first real chapter. I hope you like it. Number1KurtHummelFan, thank you for review! Please let me know what you think. **

Kurt Hummel waited for weeks for a reply to come from NYU. He hoped that his audition, his portfolio his high SAT score (1530 thank you very much) and his essay would be enough to overshadow dropping out of High School. The abundance of free time afforded to him since leaving school in November, found him working at his father's garage. He knew that many people thought this was where he would stay, isn't that the fate of a drop out, to work manual labor or a dead end job for the rest of their life? Kurt wouldn't let that happen, if NYU didn't accept him, he would scrimp and save to make it to New York and to make his dreams come true.

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Late April, four months after sending in his application, a letter came. Kurt was just dragging himself through the door after a long day at the garage. He was dirty and tired; in general, he was not in the mood to deal with anyone, least of all his stepbrother, Finn. He had barely made it through the door when Finn rushed up to him like an excited puppy that had been left alone all day.

"Kurt!" Finn exclaimed.

"Finn, sorry, but I am really not in the mood to hear about school today. I just want to go up stairs and shower. Please just leave me alone." Kurt snapped.

"But Kurt…" Finn tried again.

The other young man spun around again, "What Finn, what could possibly be so important that it can't wait until after I shower?"

Finn held up a thick package that Kurt hadn't noticed before. "A letter came for you." He finished, never losing his smile.

Kurt rushed forward, seizing the package from his hands, ripping it open almost instantly. He pulled out the contents, staring at the top sheet.

"I got in!" Kurt yelled grabbing Finn into a fierce bear hug, surprising his brother, who only took a moment before returning it. "I can't believe I got in!" Kurt exclaimed once more, the two brothers hopping up and down in each other's arms.

This is how Burt Hummel found his boys, when he walked in the door. "What has you boys so excited?" he asked with a chuckle in his voice.

Kurt released his brother to turn to his dad. "I got in to NYU! I'm really going!" Kurt told his dad, brandishing the letter.

Once Kurt stopped shaking from excitement, he sat down with Burt at the kitchen table to look over the packet, their showers forgotten. When Carole came home from work, the sight in front of her baffled her, both Hummel men were notorious for cleaning up the minute they were home. Instead they were still grease stained, having an intense conversation around the table.

"What's going on?" Carole asked, almost afraid of what their answer might be.

"It seems Kurt here, was accepted into NYU, into both programs he was hoping for, on a full scholarship no less." Burt told her with pride in his voice. "We were just trying to figure out some of the finer details."

Carole rushed to two of her favorite men, grabbing them into her arms. "We need to celebrate. You two go get cleaned up, we are going out to eat. I'll go tell Finn."

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The month of planning and organizing seemed to rush by. Before Kurt knew it he was loading the last of his boxes into the back of his Navigator. Or rather in the back of Finn's Navigator, since he would not need it in New York. The whole family was making the ten-hour drive together to help settle Kurt into his dorm room. Nervous excitement radiated off Kurt as he made his last trip back into the house until at least Christmas break. His father was staring at the computer screen, but looked up when he heard Kurt enter.

"I still can't believe that this damn screen is the only way I will be able to see you for the next few months." Burt almost whispered.

"I know Dad, I really wish I didn't have to go… but we both know I could never do anything but survive here. I need to be able to live, to be myself." Kurt said, tears building in his eyes. They had avoided this conversation for months, even as Kurt was teaching his father how to use Skype. Neither wanted to admit that this was a bigger goodbye, Kurt would not return to Lima on anything close to a permanent basis. He was leaving home, leaving his family and friends.

Burt grabbed his son into a tight hug, as if he never wanted to let him go. "I am going to miss you, son. You are so brave and strong… you had better call me and talk to me on that computer thing all the time. No matter what, I am here for you, you got that kid."

Soon after, the family of four loaded into the car, to make the trek to New York. Much as Kurt wanted and tried to engage his family in conversation, the road soon lulled all talk out of the group. Finn fell asleep not long after they made it into Pennsylvania. Kurt followed quickly on his heels.

By the time they made it to NYU, and stumbled out of the car, they were stiff and hungry. Unfortunately, food would have to wait; they still needed to at least unload the car before doing anything else. Carole accompanied Kurt to check in to Hayden hall. He was lucky enough to land a triple suite, so while he would have to share a bathroom with two other boys, he would have a room all to himself. Burt, Finn and Kurt began to unload boxes from the car into the lobby while Carole watched over those already inside. Three trips later, they loaded the boxes into the elevator to take to the tenth floor where Kurt's room was. With the boxes in the tenth floor hall Kurt began to look for his room, 1042B. There was a small common room with a bathroom to the right. Room A was situated to the right, its door next to the bathroom. Room C was down a short hall to the left. Kurt's room was straight ahead and in the corner of the building.

Once the boxes were piled into Kurt's room, they left to grab a late dinner. They offered to let Kurt stay with them at the hotel afterwards, but he declined wanting to start organizing his room before calling it a night.

Kurt stood in the middle of his dorm room surveying the small area that would be his all year. The walls were basic white; he had two windows in the corner of the room giving him a great view of the Empire State Building. The furniture was a light wood, nothing in the room spoke Kurt Hummel, but it was a basic enough pallet that he could quickly mark it as his own.

He started by placing his clothes in his dresser and closet, hating that he would have to iron them before they would be wearable. He hung his ironing board inside his closet door, ready for the next morning. Next, he found his bedclothes and feather topper. Kurt Hummel valued a comfortable bed. The charcoal grey sheets and black comforter looked nice against the crisp white walls. He placed the extra sheets and comforter on a shelf in his closet. All that would left to do in the morning would be to add the personal touches.

The suite was quiet, but the noises outside the building were loud, and everything Kurt had been looking forward to. Horns honking, music drifting over the air from some unknown place, people yelling. It was the perfect New York lullaby.

Kurt woke the next morning to distant voices resounding through his door. Kurt wrapped his robe around him before opening his door and stepping into the common room of the suite. The sight of a blond boy lugging boxes into room A greeted him. The other boy saw him and placed the boxes on the ground before approaching Kurt.

"Hey, I'm Jeff. I'm your suitemate, you're Kurt right?" He said with a smile.

"Yes, how did you know?" Kurt asked shaking Jeff's hand.

Jeff had an infectious, almost childlike smile, "One of my friends is sharing with us and I know you're not him, so I figured you were Kurt."

Kurt smiled back, "It must be nice knowing someone already. If you will give me a minute to get dressed I will help you."

"Don't worry about it, these are the last boxes." Jeff replied before his parents walked in the hall.

"When is Nick arriving?" his mom asked.

Kurt introduced himself to Mr. and Mrs. Thompson before excusing himself to go shower and dress. Knowing he would have a day of decorating ahead of him, Kurt dressed in simple skinny jeans, button up shirt and vest. Simple yet chic.

Exiting the bathroom, he nearly ran into another boy carrying boxes down the hall. "Oh my god, sorry!" Kurt exclaimed, trying valiantly to stop himself from toppling into the boy, Nick, who merely smiled at Kurt before heading into his room.

Soon Jeff, Nick, and Kurt were chatting around a work table in the common room. It seemed that all three were from Ohio and were in their school's glee club. Kurt kept the talk mostly superficial, not wanting to share yet his back-story.

At nine, Kurt's family was back in the dorm, they were going to take him to a late breakfast before heading back to Lima. When they introduced themselves to Nick and Jeff, both boys seemed to remember Finn from Glee competitions last year. Kurt hadn't attended either, because while he wanted to support his friends, he couldn't bring himself to watch from the sidelines.

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Orientation went well, if not a little lonely. Kurt while maintaining an outwardly confident demeanor was nervous to really let people in. Jeff and Nick seemed nice, but they were still boys from Ohio. Kurt had wanted so much to leave the Midwest mentality behind him, but here they were in his dorm. Kurt felt bad assuming they would be the same as the majority of boys at his school, but he couldn't help it. He was afraid.

Nick was a business major, while Jeff was pre-law. Kurt had so far neglected to divulge his double major to them. Kurt was talking eighteen hours; English, College Algebra, US History, French I, Drawing the Human form for Design Majors, and Musical Theatre Workshop. He told Nick and Jeff about his core classes but nothing else.

The day before classes were set to start, Kurt heard the boys talking in their common room. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help listening when he heard a new voice in the mix.

"So, what is your suitemate like?" the new voice asked.

Jeff answered first, "He seems nice, but he's quiet. We talked a bit the day we moved in, but since then it's like pulling teeth to get him to say more than a few words."

"Maybe he is just shy." The newcomer said.

Nick chuckled, "I don't think so, I mean he acts more stuck up than anything. I mean, he seems confident. I don't know, I can't quite get a reading on the guy."

"It could all be an act, just because you seem confident doesn't mean you are."

"Oh, Blaine, we didn't tell you, his brother was part of New Directions, you know that Glee club from Lima. And here's the thing, Kurt told us he was in glee too, but I don't remember him being at the competitions." Jeff said.

Hearing enough, Kurt walked out the door and into the bathroom, hoping to stop the conversation. Instead, Nick called to him.

"Hey Kurt, this is our friend Blaine. He's in a single two floors up."

Kurt approached the trio of friends finally looking at the new guy. He was a bit shorter than Kurt was with slicked down black hair and bushy eyebrows. Kurt extended his hand to Blaine and shook it firmly.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Kurt Hummel." He said politely.

"Likewise, Blaine Anderson." Blaine said with a smile that made his hazel eyes sparkle. "I hope to see you around."

Kurt raised his eyebrow to the other boy, "Well if you are hanging around Nick and Jeff then I'm sure you will." Kurt wasn't sure why he was being so cold to Blaine, he seemed nice, but after hearing the other boys talk about him, he wasn't really in the mood to be overly polite. He just turned around and headed into the bathroom.

Once the door was closed, he heard Blaine chastise the other two. "He probably heard you guys talking about him. I'm sorry I even asked about him, I wouldn't have if I would've known you weren't going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Just give him a chance… I have to go; I have an eight o'clock class in the morning."

After finishing in the bathroom, Kurt hurried back to his room to finish his moisturizing routine, not even glancing at his suitemates.

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The next morning Kurt loaded his messenger bag with his books for the morning before heading down to the dining hall on the first floor. He was glad that he was rooming in Hayden because it had the healthiest meal options of all the dorms. Kurt at breakfast alone, before taking off across the park to campus for his English Class. Walking into the lecture hall, Kurt was taken aback by the size of the room. He could see how students could get lost in the sea of faces. Kurt found this comforting. He could blend in to the crowd in this class, another one of the many faces. French and History were the same way, large classes, and too many faces to memorize or know who anyone was.

By noon, Kurt was done for the day so he made his way back to Hayden to enjoy lunch before heading up to his room to do his homework. In his room, he heard Nick, Jeff, and Blaine excitedly talking about their days. Part of Kurt wanted to join them, he wanted new friends, but he didn't want to put himself out there. Instead, he plugged his headphones in his ears to drown out their voices. Over Lady Gaga he faintly heard a knock at the door, but chose to ignore it.

Not long after a notice pop up on the screen telling him he had an incoming Skype call. Clicking on the icon, he saw it was Mercedes, making his heart leap. Oh how he missed his best friend! Kurt quickly pulled the headphones from his ears and accepted the call. Mercedes face then filled his screen.

"Boo, how are you? How is New York?" she said smiling at him.

A genuine smile crossed Kurt's face. "Mercedes, I miss you. How are you?"

"I'm hanging in there, school is about the same as always, but it is hard knowing you aren't just around the corner. But don't avoid my question, how are YOU doing?" Mercedes gave him a stern face.

Kurt sighed, finally letting his confident façade crumble a bit. "It's hard. The classes are so big and I haven't really met anyone aside from my suitemate and their friend. I thought they were nice… but I don't know. I heard them talking about me, they think I'm stuck up. I know I should try harder to be their friend, but…" Kurt couldn't finish his thought so he let his voice fade out.

"Boo," Mercedes gave him a sad smile. "Maybe you should just talk to them. What are they like?"

"They're from Ohio, majoring in business and pre-law… what do you think?"

She gave him a stern face. "Kurt Hummel, you are doing no better than they are, you are judging them on so little. You need to get out there and talk to them. Get to know them. They may be great people."

Kurt heaved a great sigh. "You're right Cedes… but tomorrow, it has been a long day and I am going to head to bed."

"Alright Boo, let me know how it went. I love you."

"I love you too Mercedes, tell everyone I said hi." Kurt said before ending the call.

After finishing his moisturizing routine and dressing for bed, Kurt placed his ear buds in his ears once more to help him avoid conversation once again. He then hurried to the bathroom to brush his teeth so he could head to bed. Before returning to his room, he snuck a glance at the common room, relieved to find it empty.

The next morning Kurt placed his Algebra book, his sketchpad, computer, and a dance clothes in his bag before heading out the door for the day. At breakfast, Kurt grabbed an extra apple water to eat for lunch in the park before his Musical Theatre Class that afternoon.

Algebra was a challenge for Kurt to pay attention, the large classroom and the dull material combined to try to lull Kurt asleep. Just when Kurt wasn't sure he could make it another minute longer, class was dismissed.

His drawing class on the other hand was more intimate having only thirty people in the class. They worked together on each concept, starting out simply, but Kurt knew that it would only strengthen his raw talent. He was actually sad when the period ended.

He made his way back to Washington Square Park to sit with his apple and eat. The park was pretty even if it was busy. Students made their way back and forth across the path from Campus to Hayden hall. After finishing his apple, Kurt pulled out his sketchpad attempting to finish his assignment. Just as he started shading the man on his pad, a shadow fell over the sketchpad. Looking up Kurt found a vaguely familiar face.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Here is the next chapter, thanks again to Number1KurtHummelFan for the fantastic review. I hope all of you like it. Let me know, I love to hear what people think about my stories. ENJOY!**

A small jolt of fear ran through Kurt as the shadow covered his sketch. He looked up and saw a vaguely familiar face smiling down at him.

"You're Kurt, right?" he asked. Kurt simply nodded so he continued. "I'm Blaine, we met the other night."

Kurt smiled back at him. "Yes, I remember. Are you heading back to your dorm?"

"Actually I was heading over to Tisch from lunch." Blaine told him.

"Oh are you a theatre major? Kurt asked shocked.

Blaine chucked, "No, I'm a music major, but I have been thinking of minoring in Performance so I have an appointment with one of the advisors. What's your major?"

Kurt debated for a minute before answering. He knew that he just needed to be honest and if this lost him a new friend, then it is better to get it out of the way. "I'm a double major in Fashion Design and Performance with an emphasis on Musical Theatre." Kurt paused taking in the slightly impressed look on Blaine's face before continuing. "Speaking of which, I have a class in Tisch in half an hour, do you want to head over together?"

Blaine's face lit up, taking Kurt by surprise. "That would be lovely Kurt." Blaine then stepped back a bit, giving Kurt room to return his sketchpad to his bag and stand up. As they started across campus, Blaine began speaking again. "So what class are you headed to?"

"Musical Theatre Workshop, should be interesting I haven't done much group work in almost a year. If I am being completely honest, I'm a little nervous." Kurt replied without thinking.

Blaine gave him a slight frown, "Why so long since you have performed with others? Nick and Jeff said you were in Glee club too."

Kurt sighed, knowing he would have to say something since he had already revealed this much. "I was in Glee but I had to quit right before sectionals."

Blaine's frown however did not disappear, "Why?" It seemed like such a simple question but it was more that Kurt was willing to reveal to a new acquaintance.

"I would rather not get into it, it is kind of personal." He said not even looking at his companion.

Blaine smiled and rested his hand momentarily on Kurt's shoulder. "I understand, no pressure. So you are from Ohio too right?"

The conversation from there was a bit easier. Kurt could avoid the topic of dropping out and bullying while learning more about his suitemates friend. The conversation flowed almost effortlessly between the two.

As they approached Tisch, Kurt turned to Blaine, "Thanks for talking to me… I'm not the best at making new friends."

Blaine smiled warmly back at him, "It was truly my pleasure. Tonight, I was going to hang out with Nick and Jeff's, since you already live there, maybe you should join us."

Kurt couldn't help but smile at Blaine. "I just might do that, thanks again." He then turned away and made his way into the theatre.

Once class was finished, Kurt was almost sure that Musical Theatre was going to be his favorite. They played an introduction games, trying to get to know each other. Kurt was happy that most of the information they revealed was not too deep but enough to where he felt comfortable around the group. On Thursday, he was expected to have a song prepared to 'audition' with in front of the rest of the class. As Kurt walked back to Hayden Hall, he thought over what song he could sing.

He was not paying attention when he walked into his suite. So he was surprised when he heard his name and turned to see the three friends looking back at him.

Blaine laughed at the shocked look on his face, "In your own world?" he asked.

Kurt chuckled a bit, "Yeah, I was caught up in the world of song selection. What are you doing?"

Nick and Jeff looked taken back a bit, Kurt wasn't sure if it was about song selections or him actually talking to them with a smile. After a beat, Jeff spoke, "We were talking about History. Want to join us?"

"As thrilling as history sounds, I really need to go select a song. But when you go down for dinner, let me know and I will come with you." Kurt said with a smile before retreating to his room. Not out of fear, not ready to be lonely, but determined to find the perfect song. He scoured through his iTunes list, trying to find the perfect song.

Just as he finished downloading the background track for his song a knock sounded at his door.

"Come in," Kurt called over his shoulder.

Jeff pushed his door open tentatively. "Hey we were heading doing to the dining hall, you coming?" He said looking around the room.

"Yeah, I just need to grab something then I'll be out." Kurt said unplugging his phone from his laptop. Jeff left the room as Kurt reached up to grab his speakers and stuff them in his bag.

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Kurt was beginning to relax as he sat at a table with Jeff, Nick, and Blaine in the dining hall of Hayden. Kurt picked at his salad listening to the boys telling stories about their old glee club and high school.

"I think the best was the GAP Attack!" Nick gasp through his laughter, "Blaine I have never seen you more embarrassed in all my life."

"Okay, I hate to interrupt," Kurt said, trying not to look like he thought the guys were crazy. "But what exactly is a GAP Attack. I mean while I would never be caught dead in anything from there, but I wouldn't take the time to attack it."

Jeff answered as Blaine covered his face with his hands, "Last year, Blaine had a crush on an assistant manager at the GAP and decided to serenade him with an inappropriately suggestive song, in the middle of the GAP backed by our acapella choir. It was fun, but man you should have seen poor Blainey when the guy turned him down."

Kurt's heart leapt, so not only was Blaine gay or at least bi-sexual, but Nick and Jeff seemed accepting of it. He decided to open himself up a little to them, "Well I told a guy I wanted to sing 'I Honestly Love You' to him as a ballad project where we were supposed to sing what we felt about that person. Not only is he straight, but now he is my stepbrother. So don't feel bad Blaine, you aren't the only one to make a fool out of yourself over a guy."

Blaine and Kurt exchanged smiles, before Nick asked, "Any other stories from when you were in Glee?"

Kurt's face lit up as he talked about his friends. "Well there is an annual tradition where we end up singing an inappropriate song at a school assembly causing a sex riot. Speaking of which, it is about that time of year, I just hope someone takes a video."

Blaine chuckled, "Does that mean there are videos floating around of you doing these inappropriate songs?"

Kurt blushed a deep crimson. "I have absolutely no idea."

It wasn't long before they were finished eating, Kurt excused himself from the other boys. He made his way down to the basement and into one of the few practice rooms down there. This was one of the reasons he had wanted to dorm in Hayden were the practice rooms near the laundry.

Kurt spent an hour practicing his song before heading back to the suite to finish his homework for his morning classes. Nick and Jeff were working on their homework together at the table in the common room when he entered.

"Hey Kurt!" Nick called when he walked through the door.

Kurt smiled at the two boys. "Hey, thanks for inviting me to dinner tonight. I had a lot of fun."

"We were glad you came. You know you really are a great guy, we should hang out more." Jeff told Kurt with a smile.

"Yeah, I will have to do that, but I have to finish my homework for class. I'll see you in tomorrow."

That night, Kurt felt his loneliness slipping away. It was a good feeling.

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Things were looking up for Kurt, he spent Wednesday, when not in class with Jeff, Nick and Blaine. He put off rehearsing for his audition Thursday not wanting to seclude himself again. He even let the other boys watch him as he finished his sketch. They didn't scoff at his majors, and were actually impressed with the amount of hours and work he had set himself up for. They kept the conversation light, as they all worked on homework together.

After his morning classes Thursday, Kurt knew he desperately needed to run through his audition piece. He hurried back to Hayden, grabbing a cup of yogurt before heading downstairs to the practice rooms. He ate his yogurt quickly as he set up his speakers and found the song on his phone.

He centered himself, preparing himself to sing. Kurt chose Blackbird, because it was a song about rising above struggle. It was something Kurt could really connect to. He thought back to last year and to where he is now. He pushed the buttons and began to play. What he didn't know, was that someone was watching him from the window in the door.

The last strum of the guitar sounded just as a knock came to the door. Kurt looked up to see Blaine staring back at him. He motioned for the other boy to enter.

"That was amazing Kurt." Blaine said walking through the door.

"Uh… T-thank you." Kurt replied trying to hide the way his heart leapt. The more time he spent with Blaine the more his feelings were growing. But he was wary, he didn't want to ruin something with Blaine or his friends with what he was sure was a silly crush that wouldn't be reciprocated. He pushed his feelings aside and continued talking. "It is for an audition today in Musical Theatre."

Blaine smiled an enchanting smile at Kurt, "Well, I personally think that you will do great."

"What are you doing down here?" Kurt asked, trying hard not to sound rude.

Blaine rubbed the back of his neck, "I was going to use the piano next door to practice a piece but I heard you, well I didn't know it was you yet, but I heard you singing and I had to see who it was."

Kurt smiled, trying to hide the blush creeping up his neck. "Thank you again. I should probably go though, it's a trek to Tisch. So I will see you later, okay?"

Blaine nodded and stepped out of the door to let Kurt through, while he stuffed his phone and speakers back in his bag.

Kurt's audition went well, it had been a while since he had felt his talent appreciated. He left the theatre with a skip in his step, returning to his dorm. When he walked in, he was greeted by the familiar site of the three boys sitting at the table in the common room.

"Hey, Kurt, how did your audition go?" Blaine asked as soon as he made it through the door.

Jeff and Nick exchanged glances, "What audition?" Nick asked before Kurt could speak.

"It was a mock audition for my Musical Theatre Workshop. And it went great! Professor Hester is passing back our critics on Tuesday, but I think it went well."

The three sat around talking about their classes, for a while before Blaine spoke up again. "Hey they three of us were planning on going to this Jazz club around the corner tomorrow. It is eighteen and up until eleven, you want to join us?"

Kurt frowned at them, as they all looked expectantly at him. "Sorry, I can't."

"Why not?" Blaine asked with a frown of his own.

"I'm not eighteen yet, not until May. I think we can all agree that they will card me." Kurt said with a smile.

The other boys stared at Kurt for a minute before Nick spoke. "If you are only seventeen, how are you in college yet?"

"I left school early." Kurt said simply. "but you guys can go without me. I heard they are having a Gay-straight alliance meeting at Brittany Hall tomorrow night, I might go to that."

Before any other questions could be asked, Kurt excused himself and went to his room. He called his dad that night on Skype to assure him that he was surviving in New York. He wanted to talk to Mercedes or one of the other glee girls to ask for advice on navigating his feelings. Unfortunately, none were on the computer and he was afraid of being over heard by the other boys. Instead, he plunked his earbuds in, lay on his bed and lost himself in thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: First of all, Thank you for the reviews so far. I really love to hear what you think. When I get a review it makes me want to write, knowing someone wants to read what is next. They are great motivation not to just let the story fester in my mind. Second, the chapters on this seem short to me, I normally write at least 3000 or more words, but the breakdown of this story is turning out to have shorter chapters. So sorry if you like longer chapters, this is just how they are turning out. Anyway I hope you like this let me know what you think.**

Kurt had to fight the urge to withdraw from his suitemates again, afraid he might be led to reveal more of his past than he was willing to. When Blaine was there with his smiling, friendly face, it was even harder for Kurt. Part of him wanted to open up to this other boy, but most of him wanted just to see him smile. Kurt was trying hard not to start crushing on one of only three tentative friends he had made so far.

Friday, Kurt focused on getting through his classes, and going to the Gay-Straight Alliance. What he hadn't planned on was finding Blaine waiting outside of his suite as he returned from History.

"Hey Blaine, what's up?" He asked tentatively as he approached.

Blaine's face lit up in a smile that made Kurt ignore the clenching of his stomach. "I was actually looking for you Kurt."

Kurt fumbled with his key, placing it in the lock as he responded, "Oh, well in that case, come on in." Kurt gave him a smile before gesturing for him to enter. They made their way into the common room, but Kurt kept walking until he got to his bedroom door. He looked over his shoulder and told Blaine. "I'm just going to put my stuff away if you want to come in."

Blaine folloeds Kurt into his room, taking in his surroundings before turning to him once again. "Your room is really nice. It seems very… you… at least from what I know about you."

Kurt was pulling his books out of his bag, giving him something to do aside from focusing on Blaine, "Thank you, I tried… so what did you need with me?"

If Kurt had turned around, he would have seen Blaine shifting with nerves. As it was, he was trying to organize his homework. "I was wondering if you wanted someone to go with you to the meeting tonight." Blaine said.

Kurt fiddled with his papers once more, not wanting to look at Blaine. "You already have plans, I'm sure you have been looking forward to going to this club."

"But I want to go to the meeting; the jazz club will still be there next week." Blaine said his tone light.

Kurt finally turned around, "And there will be other meetings as well. You don't want to let down Jeff and Nick." Kurt sighed, "It's not that I am opposed to you going to the meeting, but you already have plans. Don't feel bad that I can't go, I knew that I would run into things like this when I came here. Just go have fun, and check out the place, that way when I do turn 18 you can tell me all the places that are worth going to."

Blaine gave a resigned sigh, "Okay Kurt, if you insist. Let me know how the meeting goes, okay?"

Kurt smiled at him again, "Of course."

88888

At the meeting that night, Kurt was happy to find that it was more of a mixer than anything else. Kurt stood talking to a couple of guys from his Musical Theatre class, Jack and Ty. Jack was tall with blond hair and deep brown eyes, while Ty was stocky with red hair and sparkling blue eyes. The three stood around talking about musicals and what they hoped would happen in the class that year. Kurt was surprised to feel a big smile creep onto his face. He was in a room full of strangers and for once, he wasn't afraid. He excused himself from Ty and Jack and started mingling throughout the room. He met several people and had a few fulfilling conversations. It was nice; he met couples, both gay and straight and many people there on their own. _This _was why he wanted to come to New York, the acceptance. A place where he may be a minority, but he wasn't an outcast.

He was just about to leave when a man approached him. He was tall, with short brown hair. Kurt vaguely remembered him from earlier in the evening, and thought his name was James. He was a junior, and an English major.

"Hey, Kurt, leaving already?" he asked with a smile.

Kurt returned it, "Yes, I want to get back before it gets too late."

"Too bad, I was hoping you would join me for some drinks." The boy actually winked.

Kurt, a little flustered by this blatant act of flirting, answered back, "I'm not 21 yet so no bars for me." Kurt gave an uneasy chuckle.

"No bars needed, I have some back at my apartment." James said, apparently not easily dissuaded.

Kurt tried hard not to roll his eyes at this boy, who was making him uncomfortable. "Listen, as flattering as it is, I am only seventeen, and that is not really something I am interested in. Thanks for the offer though."

James left in a bit of a huff. Kurt was about to leave Brittany Hall when Ty and Jack walked up to him hand in hand. "Hey you live in Hayden right?" Ty asked. When Kurt nodded they offered to walk back with him.

Kurt left the budding couple in the lobby before heading up to his suite. It was only ten, so he wasn't surprised to find it empty. Kurt sat in his room, quiet music playing and sketched. It wasn't until he was finished that he noticed the figure on his paper, had slicked back hair, bushy eye brows and a slightly crinkled smile.

88888888

The next few weeks went by in a rush. The classes were getting more intense and Kurt was starting to feel the pressure of taking so many hours. Most of his free time was spent doing homework, or taking meals with Nick, Jeff, and Blaine. Kurt tried desperately not to let them see the strain that his work load was taking on him.

A month into the semester, though, after the other boys persuaded him to join them in the common room to study, Kurt cracked. He was trying valiantly to understand his Algebra homework but he just wasn't getting it. He slammed his book in frustration and threw it to the ground in a huff.

The other boys looked over at him, as he felt tears stinging the back of his eyes. "Everything okay Kurt?" Blaine asked his brow furrowed in concern.

"I hate Algebra I just don't get this." Kurt yelled in frustration.

Nick looked at him in confusion, "But it is basically Algebra II, did you have problems with it?"

Kurt sighed, "I didn't finish Algebra II."

"Why not?" Blaine asked.

Kurt stood up and started to his room, but mumbled before he was out of ear shot, "I told you I left school early. I didn't say I graduated early." Then Kurt was alone in his room.

He could hear quiet voices coming from the common room, then the door opening and shutting. He was surprised then when he heard a light knock at his door.

"I don't feel like talking." He said in a small voice.

He was surprised when Blaine's voice answered. "Do you want some help with your work?"

Kurt got up and opened the door, seeing Blaine standing there with his book and papers in his hand. "Thanks Blaine, but I think I have had enough Algebra for one night."

"Mind if I stay?" Blaine asked with a hopeful smile.

Kurt waved him in the room before returning to his bed with a plop.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk? I've heard I'm an excellent listener." Blaine said with another shy smile.

"I'm just overwhelmed. I knew college would be harder, especially compared to my high school, but it's a lot. Even French is kicking my butt and I am fluent." Kurt told him as he grabbed his pillow to hold to his chest.

"Really? Fluent in French, very impressive." Blaine said, obviously trying to cheer Kurt up.

"Yes, I once sang a fourteen and a half minute Celine Dion medley for a National Cheerleading competition." He told Blaine. "We won too." He added with a smirk.

"When was this?" Blaine asked,

"My freshman year of High School."

Blaine gave a mischievous smile, "You never mentioned you were a cheerleader."

Kurt couldn't help but laugh, "It was only that one year, a few months actually. I did a lot of things that year I never thought I would."

"Like what?"

"I apparently lead a girl on causing her to break the window of my car. I was only fifteen but I had a hardship license since it was only my dad and me. Oh and she is now one of my best friends. I joined the football team, as a kicker, to make my dad happy. I then came out to my dad. I joined Cheerios. I set my dad up with my crushes mom. They worked out, we didn't as you know. I dressed like a Lady Gaga character. It was an interesting year."

Blaine laughed, "Wow sounds like an interesting school. My freshman year was mainly spent being beaten up."

Kurt's face fell, "Yeah, that too, well mainly shoved and tossed in dumpster, and slushee facials."

"Slushee facials?" Blaine asked.

"Oh yes, the jocks love to throw Slushees in our faces, not a pleasant experience, but can we talk about something else?"

Blaine's smile was back again, "What about sophomore year?"

"It was pretty tame, we had our sex riot, I was Riff Raff in a production of Rocky Horror that no one saw. I planned my Dad and stepmom's wedding in a week," Kurt paused, and decided just to go for it, just to let it out. "And I dropped out of High School."

"What?" Blaine said in obvious confusion.

"I don't want to go in depth, but things got really bad at my school, I had no other real options, so I left. I got my GED took my SATs and here I am." Kurt said, not meeting the other boy's eyes.

"Wow, no wonder you are feeling overwhelmed. But really if you need help with anything, let me know, okay?"

Kurt nodded still not looking at Blaine. He was surprise when Blaine spoke again, "Hey, let me take you out tomorrow, we can rush tickets for a show, maybe go to dinner."

Kurt gave a sad smile, "That's nice Blaine, but I don't want your sympathy, that's not why I told you."

"That is not why I asked you Kurt. I asked you," Blaine paused, lifting Kurt's chin so he was finally looking at him. "I asked you, because I have been dying for an opportunity to do something with you, just the two of us."

Kurt couldn't keep the look of disbelief off of his face. Sure, in the time he has been at NYU he has been hit on and asked out, but this was different. As much as Kurt tried to deny it to himself, he really liked Blaine. He had tried to convince himself, they were only friends. "Really?" Kurt asked.

"Really."

Kurt still couldn't believe this, "Just so we're clear, and don't feel bad if I am wrong, but are you talking going out, as in a date?"

Blaine laughter couldn't be contained, but Kurt's panic was short lived, "Yes, as in a date. Kurt, would you go out, on a date, with me tomorrow?"

Kurt's cheeks reddened almost instantly, "Yes, Blaine, I would love to go on a date with you tomorrow."

As soon as Blaine left, Kurt was on his phone with Mercedes gushing about his first date. She accused him of only calling her because of this happy development, so Kurt stayed on the phone with her telling her the trials and jubilation that was college life.

That night, Kurt went to bed, no longer stressed about his schoolwork. He decided that it could wait. Tonight, he was going to allow his romantic dreamer side take over and bask in the fact that tomorrow Blaine Anderson was picking him up at seven to talk him out for a day in The Big Apple.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N… okay here is the date… I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for the reviews… they really mean the world to me. And the fact that some of you have taken it upon yourselves to right lengthy thoughts about my writing, is amazing to me. Thank you again. Let me know what you think. **

Kurt woke early Saturday morning, anxious to get ready for his date with Blaine. Just the thoughts that Blaine might have actual feelings, or dare he even think it, attraction to him, made butterflies erupt in his stomach. He had to fight the urge to sing in the shower, afraid of waking his suitemates, unsure if they knew he was going on a date with their friend. In his room, he danced around while getting ready, from both excitement and nerves. He was just finishing tying his knee high boots when he heard a gentle knock at the suite door. He quickly grabbed his phone and wallet and hurried to the door.

Blaine was standing there with a big smile on his face, taking in all of Kurt. "Good Morning, you look really nice."

Kurt couldn't help but return his smile, with a blush he said, "You too, Mr. Anderson."

Blaine stepped back for a moment, giving Kurt room to exit. "Are you ready to go Mr. Hummel?" he asked.

As they made their way out of Hayden Hall, Blaine started telling him about what he had planned for the day. "I thought we could go to Bagels on the Square and pick up breakfast to eat while waiting for the rush line, then see what tickets we can get. Sound good?"

Blaine looked a little nervous that his plan wasn't good enough. So Kurt, smiled at him saying, "It sounds perfect."

Kurt was surprised when Blaine insisted on paying for his breakfast, reminding Kurt that this _was_ a date. Blaine carried the bag of bagels and cream cheese while they walked to Broadway, sipping coffee and talking. There were maybe two dozen people in line in front of them when they made it to the ticket booth an hour and a half before it would open.

"Have you seen a Broadway show before?" Blaine asked handing Kurt his bagel.

Kurt took another sip of coffee before answering, "No, I actually had never been to New York until I moved here. My stepbrother Finn came with the glee club last year, but that was after I left school. I was so jealous of him that HE was here and not me." A smile mischievous smile appeared on Kurt's face as he added, "Granted, I did feel better when I found out they were pretty much stuck in the hotel room the whole trip."

Blaine's laughter joined Kurt's in a kind of harmony. "Well then, I think it is only fair if you get to choose the show we see then."

"No, I couldn't do that." Kurt said, feeling it was rude not to protest.

"I insist. If you could only see one show, what would it be?"

"_Wicked. _Hands down, I love that show." Kurt said unable to stop himself from bouncing on his feet.

Blaine's face fell a fraction, "They don't rush _Wicked _tickets, they do a lottery, but I have an idea. We could try and get rush tickets for a matinee of another show. Then we can go to the Gershwin to enter the lottery for tonight's show. You up for it?"

"That is too much Blaine, this is just our first date." Kurt told him shaking his head.

Blaine's face brightened, "What if it was our second date?" Seeing Kurt's confusion he elaborated, "We get tickets for a matinee now, spend the morning together, have lunch, go to the show, then I walk you back to your dorm. We take thirty minutes to change, go through all the post-first-date nerves, where we worry how it went. Then I pick you up, we go to the Gershwin, enter the lottery, hope for the best. If we get the tickets, we go to a diner to eat before the show, if not I take you to a fancy restaurant. So, would you be willing to go out with me again?"

Kurt's laughter filled the air. "You are that confident our first date will go well?" he couldn't help but ask.

"More like, I hope our first date goes well." Blaine said, a blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Me too," Kurt said his heart racing wearing the biggest smile he's had in a long time. "I think that is a brilliant idea. I think a second date is a great idea."

Conversation after that flowed easily between them as they waited in line. Kurt hadn't laughed as hard with another person ever. When the ticket booth finally opened, it wasn't long before it was their turn to buy tickets. They were lucky enough to get matinee tickets to _How to Succeed in Business_, which had both boys excited as they walked away from the booth.

Since Kurt, hadn't really left campus much since beginning NYU, Blaine led him around the streets of New York. Just outside of the Central Park, Blaine reached over and took Kurt's hand without comment. They walked hand in hand through central park, talk while taking in their surroundings. They talked about almost every subject under the sun, except bullying. They talked about their high schools, but both left out the traumatic experiences they both knew they each had.

For lunch they found a deli with a patio where they could sit and eat. Kurt ate his salad, and watched Blaine with his corned beef and cabbage. Seeing his looks, Blaine asked, "You eat a lot of salad, why?"

"I have always watched what I eat, but my dad had a heart attack last year, so I have been even more careful since then. Better safe than sorry, you know." Kurt said with a shrug of his shoulder.

Blaine smiled at him, "While I can respect that, have you ever tried Corned beef?"

"The name was always off putting to me." Kurt said shaking his head.

Blaine held up his fork, "Here, try it… for me." Blaine gave Kurt a hopeful smile.

Kurt couldn't resist that smile, so he leaned forward taking the fork delicately in his mouth. "Oh my god!" he exclaimed pulling away, "that is really good."

Blaine smiled, his eyes sparkling. "I'm glad you like it."

As they left the deli, Kurt found Blaine's with his, not letting go until they were outside the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Their seats were close, so close Kurt felt like it was a dream. The show was amazing. Kurt sat there hardly able to believe that one of his first Hollywood crushes was up there on that stage. What made it even more dream like that the thought that he was more content sitting holding hands with the guy beside him. At intermission, they talked about the first act, and the surprise talent that was Daniel Radcliffe. During the second act, Blaine's arm made its way over Kurt's shoulder. Kurt leaned slightly into Blaine's space, comfortable.

Once the show ended, Blaine led them back to NYU, and Hayden Hall, their hands entwined again. They talked about the show, not mentioning their date later that night. By the time they made it up to the tenth floor, it was 4:30.

Kurt turned around, his back facing his door. "I really had a great time today Blaine. I can't wait to do it again." He smiled shyly at him, playing along with how first dates were supposed to end.

"I'll call you, okay Kurt?" Blaine asked playing along.

Kurt turned around, unlocking the door but not opening it as he said, "I look forward to it." Kurt then turned to where it was facing Blaine again and pulled him into a hug. As they began to pull apart, Kurt put his hand on Blaine's cheek, placing a chaste kiss on the other boy's lips.

Kurt then pulled away saying, "Thanks again Blaine." Before opening the door and disappearing within. He had barely made it to the door of his room when his cell phone rang.

"Hello" Kurt answered, breathlessly.

"Hey, it's Blaine, I was wondering if we could go out again?" Kurt heard over the phone and faintly through his front door.

"That would be lovely." Kurt answered, unable to completely hide the excitement in his voice.

"Great, I'll pick you up in half an hour then?"

"I'll be waiting." Kurt answered, hanging up the phone.

Kurt was so caught up in his excitement at an excellent first date, that he didn't notice Nick and Jeff sitting at the table in the common room. As Kurt began to dance around in a circle, Nick called out, "What has you so happy Kurt?"

He jumped at the voice, turning to face the two other boys, "Oh, great first date! I have to go get ready for the second. We'll talk later okay?" He then rushed to his room to choose and outfit so he could jump in the shower.

Kurt missed the confused looks his suitemates sent each other as they watched him flit into the bathroom. Kurt's song reached them as well as he happily showered and did his hair. He had just disappeared back into his bedroom to put on his shoes, when they heard a knock at the door.

Jeff opened the door and looked a Blaine dressed in a slim black suit. "Hey Blaine, what are you all dressed up for, you don't have to impress us." He said with a laugh.

Blaine gave his friend a smile, "Actually, I am here to pick up Kurt."

"Wait, you're the great first date?" Nick asked looking between his friend and the boy emerging from his room.

Kurt walked up to the three saying, "Yes, we'll see you later, night."

Before Blaine could do more than wink at his friends they were out the door. They fell into step with each other, and nice conversation as they made their way to the Gershwin Theatre. As they stood in line waiting to put their names in the lottery, Kurt couldn't help but exclaim, "I can't believe I am here."

Blaine smiled at Kurt, "I'm glad that just being here has made you happy."

Kurt turned a serious face to Blaine, "Are you going to let me pay for this?"

"Here's the deal, if your name is drawn for the tickets, you pay. If mine is then I pay. Deal?" Blaine said holding out his hand.

"Deal." Kurt said, forgoing Blaine's outstretched hand instead sealing it with a gentle kiss.

Their smiles did not leave their faces for the twenty minute wait for the drawing. They stood a listened to half a dozen names being called before hearing Blaine Anderson called by the woman at the front. Blaine cheerfully paid for the tickets, stuffing them in his jacket pocket before Kurt could inspect them.

"Okay we have two hours until curtain, let's go find something to eat." Blaine said grabbing Kurt's hand once more. This was a gesture that already felt natural to the two men.

Sitting inside a small café, waiting for their food, Kurt said, "I take it you didn't tell Nick and Jeff that you asked me out?"

"No, but you didn't seem to tell them either." Blaine laughed.

Kurt's laughter joined his, "They are either going to tease us mercilessly, threaten my life if I hurt you, or drill us for details after this aren't they?"

"I don't know, I may be the one threatened, they do have to live with you." Blaine returned with a smile, "But if I know Nick and Jeff, they will want to know how this happened more than anything."

A puzzled look crossed Kurt's face, "How did this happen?"

"Well," Blaine began, "I thought you were gorgeous the first time I saw you, but… you remember when I saw you singing that one day?" Kurt nodded, "That was the first time I saw what I was sure was the real you. Watching you sing, there was so much vulnerability and strength and so much emotion there that I knew I had to get to know you better. Since then, you haven't ceased to amaze me." Blaine laughed a little shyly, "So why are you here, Kurt?"

"The first time I met you, I was too mad to really notice anything about you." Blaine looked confused and a little bit hurt. Kurt tried to explain, "I overheard the three of you talking about me. With everything that happened in high school, it was easier for me to put up a wall and be mad than to put myself out there. Then, you walked up to me in the park, and I really saw you. To be honest, I have been trying to ignore my feelings for you for a while now."

"Why?" Blaine asked.

"I was afraid, my past crushes have not ended well. I didn't want to strain this with us or between me and Nick and Jeff. I'm glad I decided not to be afraid anymore." Kurt told him, grabbing Blaine's hands.

If Kurt thought his first Broadway show was amazing, _Wicked_ was simply magical. They were in the third row center. Kurt felt like he could reach out and touch Elphaba she was so close. Tears filled Kurt's eyes numerous times throughout the show. Kurt didn't even want to leave his seat during the intermission.

He turned to Blaine, "Thank you so much for this, I have never had a more amazing day." He grabbed Blaine into another hug, after which Blaine lifted his hand to caress Kurt's cheek. The flashing lights signaling the end of intermission broke the spell.

Kurt was one of the first people out of his seat, applauding the show once the curtain fell. They stood there are the rest of the audience filed out of the theatre, when it was just the two of them Blaine placed his arm around Kurt's waist and led him out in to the New York night.

They walked, arms around the other's waist in comfortable silence for a while. Kurt was the one to finally break the silence. "We were going to do _Defying Gravity_ in glee once. Mr. Shue automatically gave the solo to this girl Rachel. I wanted that song so bad, when my dad saw how upset I was he went to the school and fought for my right to audition for it."

"Did you?" Blaine asked quietly.

"No, I might have, I had that High F, but… I was used to the calls, the name-calling. But the night before the audition, my dad answered one. I knew it would get worse if I sang a girls song… so I blew the note. I really wanted that solo, but my dad meant more to me." Kurt finished with a sigh.

"You're close with your dad?" Blaine asked.

The smile that graced Kurt's lips was mesmerizing to Blaine. "Yeah, for so long it was just us. We've had rough spots, but he tries really hard to be accepting."

"You're lucky." Blaine said, with the barest hint of bitterness in his voice. "My dad, is better at ignoring than accepting. My mom is great though, how about yours, you said it was just the two of you…"

Kurt smiled at Blaine, "My real mom is dead, but my stepmom is wonderful."

"I'm sorry Kurt…"

He cut Blaine off, "Don't be." Another moment of silence before Kurt continued, "This really has been a perfect night. I couldn't have imagined a better date… or a better person to share it with."

Blaine turned to Kurt, ignoring the stream of people walking past them. His hand cupped Kurt's cheek, bringing their lips closer. Kurt's heart pounded as their lips caressed. They didn't break apart until a wayward pedestrian bumped into the couple.

The rest of the walk back to Hayden was filled with silence and smiles from both men. Once again outside of Kurt's door, they stopped.

"I would ask you to come in, but I figure Nick and Jeff would just bombard us with questions." Kurt said blushing.

Blaine smiled saying, "I think you may be right. Listen Kurt, I had a great time, can we do this again?"

"Honestly, I would hate it if we didn't." Kurt said, playing with Blaine's fingers.

"Then I will call you, or see you soon." Blaine nervously answered.

Before either of them knew it, their lips were meeting again, in that beautiful dance. Kurt's heart raced as he swiped his tongue against Blaine's lips wanting to properly taste him. He nearly gasped when Blaine complied. Kurt thought his heart would explode. Small noises filled the air around the pair, as the revealed in the taste and feel of the other. Finally, they parted, needing to catch their breath. Both chuckled, before bidding each other good night.

Kurt slipped in through the door, but couldn't stop himself from placing his back against it and sliding down to the floor with a huge grin on his face. He was so caught up in reliving the moment in his head he didn't hear the guffaws of laughter from his two suitemates.

Jeff's boisterous voice finally broke from his revelry, "I take it you have another great date?"

Kurt's face was a deep scarlet as he stood telling the other boys, "Shut up," before going to his room and plopping down on his bed. He wanted to gush over his wonderful day, he wanted to go over every detail with someone. But he knew a phone call or Skype wouldn't be enough. So instead, he relived every detail of the day in his head as he got ready for bed, and drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Here is the next Chapter, I hope you like it. Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter. They all really do mean a lot to me. Keep them coming so I know if I am still doing okay. There will be another AN at the bottom, because I don't want to give anything in the story away, but I want to talk about it.**

When Kurt woke the morning after the dual date day with Blaine, he had to lay in bed for a minute to realize that it had all really happened. He couldn't suppress the smile that crept on his face. The day had been everything Kurt as a hopeless romantic could have wanted. Once the realization sunk in that everything was true, he hopped out of bed, ready to face a new day.

Kurt knew that he still had tones of work, he knew that he would still feel overwhelmed at times, but somehow it all felt a little bit more manageable. He grab his clothes to make his way to the bathroom to get ready. What he wasn't expecting when he entered the common room, was to see Nick and Blaine sitting at the table.

Kurt's hand instantly went to his hair, trying to smooth down the inevitable bed head as he exclaimed, "Blaine, what are you doing here so early?"

Blaine tried to quiet his laugh at Kurt's shock, "It is after ten Kurt, I wouldn't call this early."

"Oh…" Kurt sheepishly replied before adding, "I'm just going to hop in the shower." He quickly went into the bathroom, hoping that the bit of embarrassment he felt would wash away in his shower. By the time he got out, he felt better about the unexpected early morning encounter.

When Kurt emerged from the bathroom, Jeff was walking in carrying four cups of coffee from downstairs. Kurt and Blaine tried to ignore the inquisitive glances from the other two. Finally Nick spoke, "Okay, are either of you going to tell us what happened yesterday?"

Kurt looked to Blaine, silently hoping he would answer. After a moment, Blaine said slowly as if speaking to a child, "Kurt and I went out on a date yesterday, Nick."

"Two actually," Kurt added with a grin.

"I stand corrected," the smile was returned, "Kurt and I went on two dates yesterday. And sorry boys if you want details, you are going to be disappointed." His friends looked indignantly at Blaine. He ignored them and turned to Kurt, "I was going to find and kooky local coffee house to work on some homework Kurt, would you care to join me?"

Kurt tried to steady his breathe and not reveal just how excited he was, "That sounds great, just let me gather my things, give me five minutes?"

Ten minutes later as the two boys walked through the streets of New York, looking for a place to study, Blaine nervously looked over at his companion, "This isn't moving too fast for you is it?"

Kurt quirked him a bemused smile, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we crammed two dates in one day, then I show up at your dorm the next taking you out again. I really don't know what I am doing here, I'm not good at romance. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't coming on too strong." Blaine told him, trying to look him in the eye while navigating the busy sidewalk.

"For someone who claims not to be good a romance, you have done wonderfully so far." Kurt said smiling. "Honestly, I don't know what I am doing either. All I can tell you is that, this feels… right. And it's not like we didn't spend a lot of time together before. Now it's just the two of us instead of with Nick and Jeff."

Blaine chuckled, " I guess you are right, I just… I just don't want to screw this up Kurt."

"How about we just do what comes naturally. Don't worry about anything else, if one of us feels uncomfortable with something, we talk about it. Does that sound fair?" Kurt asked. Sounds great.

They finally found a small coffee shop, with miss matched furniture and local art for sale on the walls. The true test was if the coffee was good. As they walked up to the counter and ordered, Kurt insisted on paying, giving Blaine a stern look when he tried to refuse. At the first sip of their orders, they knew they had found their coffee shop.

The day was spent finishing their homework, occasionally taking breaks to chat. It was nice, and the pair fell into a sort of rhythm as the day progressed. By the time they finished their homework, the sky outside was darkening, and the light lunch they had at the coffee shop was wearing off. Almost as if by a silent signal the two packed up their things to head out.

"Do you want to get something to eat? They've stopped serving in Hayden, but Brittany should still be open or we could stop for food on the way back." Kurt asked as he grabbed Blaine's hand.

In the end they decided to grab Chinese food and take it back to Kurt's dorm. They were good friends and grabbed enough for Nick and Jeff as well. The reception they received when they entered the suite with food was priceless. Apparently the other boys hadn't stopped studying long enough for more than a bag of chips from the vending machine.

They sat around passing cartons of various foods talking. Everything was light and cheerful until Jeff asked, "Hey Kurt, why did you leave school early?"

Kurt's grin slid almost instantly off his face. Jeff quickly tried to make amends but Kurt waved him off. "No, it's okay. I should have probably told you by now. I mean, we've lived together for six weeks." He took a deep calming breath. "Can you just give me a minute?"

Kurt stood and made his way into his room, not bothering to close the door behind him. He sat on his bed for a moment trying to gather his thoughts. He faintly heard Blaine reprimanding Jeff for upsetting him, bringing a smile to Kurt's face. Finally, he grabbed a framed picture off his desk and returned to the common room.

He held the picture to his chest as he looked at the others. "Okay, first of all, I am going to warn you, I may cry, I tend to be over emotional, so be warned. Also, please just hear me out before you judge me, alright?"

They all nodded so Kurt took another soothing breath to continue. Before he could start speaking though, Blaine grabbed his hand. Kurt took this as an anchor, something to give him strength. He layed the picture down for the boys to see, "This is the last picture I had taken with the New Directions. This was about two or three weeks before I dropped out." He paused seeing Jeff and Nick exchange glances. "These people were actually the only friends I ever had… ever."

Kurt pointed to a boy with a mohawk. "This is Puck, before Glee club he used to throw me in the dumpster every morning. This is before I came out. I was always picked on, because I am different." He took a deep breath, trying to focus his thoughts. By the end of my freshman year, everything seemed okay, because while I was still bullied every day, I had my friends. Then last year, you see if it would have been the same kind of bullying, I could have handled it, I would have pushed through and dealt with it. But they was this one guy from the football team, he was always the worst. He started harassing me, any opportunity he had, he used it to torment me. One day I snapped, I followed him into the locker room and man was I letting him have it, yelling at him, finnaly standing up for myself. I was ready for him just to hit me, just to beat the shit out of me. What he did was in some ways worse."

Kurt couldn't go on for a minute as tears sprang to his eyes. Blaine softly whispered, "Kurt, you don't have to do this."

Kurt gave Blaine a watery smile, But I do, I really just do, I can't keep this inside anymore. As I was screaming at him, he kissed me. It was my first kiss, I mean, my first real kiss, I kissed her," he said pointing to a pretty blind girl, "when I was trying to be straight for my dad, but that was my first boy kiss. It was awful, and he tried again. I fought him off, but after that, he got worse. Finally a teacher noticed," Kurt pointed again to the adult in the picture. "Mr. Shue took me to the principal, but they couldn't do anything, I didn't tell them about the kiss. I guess, because I knew what it was like to be in the closet and scared. Anyway, I guess he was scared I was going to out him, and he threatened to kill me. I tried to pretend like everything was fine. The other boys in glee tried to get him to stop, but that didn't help. One day, my dad saw him making fun of me, Finn was there and he made me tell my dad what was happening. I can't lie to my dad, he always seems to know when I am keeping something from him. I ended up telling him about the death threat. Coach Sylvester, she was principal, expelled him. I really thought things would be okay. The school board let him back in, it was my word against his. I tried to just be strong, to not let it bother me, I still hadn't told about the kiss, I even lied about it. The glee guys made sure there was someone with me at all times to help protect me."

He had to pause, the others were shooting concerned looks at each other, Kurt tried not to notice. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Kurt continued, "And then I made a stupid mistake, I was in the middle of French class, and I excused myself to the bathroom," a soft chuckle arose from Kurt, "I mean it felt stupid having the guys accompany me to the bathroom like a toddler. I thought I would be safe, I thought he would be in class. I was wrong, I didn't even make it to the bathroom before the cornered me. He was smart enough not to hurt me. He knew that would just end with him being expelled or sent to juvie. Not he pushed me against a locker his face right up against mine and whispered all things he was going to do to me, exactly how he was going to kill me and get away with it. Damn Coach Sylvester for being so loud, she was yelling at some student for being in the halls. He heard her and ran away. Coach found me bawling in the middle of the hall. If she would have just seen him, heard him, he would have been gone and I would be a Junior in high school. After that, I knew if I was going to survive I had to leave, so I did."

Jeff was the first to speak, "But there are private school, at Dalton, you would have been safe."

Kurt chuckled through the tears streaming his face, "My dad is a mechanic, my step mom is a nurse, I doubt Dalton is a place they could have afforded." Kurt felt more than saw Blaine move his chair closer, then Blaine's arms were wrapped around him. "I took the test for my GED, took my SAT's and applied here. At least if I was pursuing my dreams, I wasn't letting him win."

"Wow Kurt, I can't believe you had to go through all that." Nick said, trying to wrap his head around everything Kurt had told them.

"You know, aside from the actual bullying, the hardest thing was watching my friends get to have the normal high school experience, while I was working away at my dad's shop." A real laugh emitted from Kurt, " Of course now, I think I have the better deal. I mean look at me, I am in New York, I'm working towards my dreams, I have found more here than I ever would have found in Ohio," he chanced a look over at Blaine who flashed him a smile. "my friends are actually jealous of me now. I may not be glad that the bullying happened, or that got as bad as it did… but I truly am happy here."

Blaine smiled at Kurt again, "I hate that you had to deal with all that, but in the end… I'm glad you aren't just some junior in high school."

The other boys heartily agreed, and Kurt was surprised to find himself in the middle of a group hug.

Once Nick and Jeff returned to their seats, Jeff spoke, "I'm sorry that I asked you about it Kurt, but I'm glad you told us."

Kurt wiped the last tears from his eyes, "Yeah, me too. I'm sorry that I didn't open up to you sooner, you deserve a lot more. I just have a hard time, really trusting people with my problems sometimes. Part of me wanted to leave all this in Lima, but you know it is a part of me. Anyway, someone else have any horror stories they want to share?" He asked with a laugh.

The other boys began telling stories from high school, nothing as awful as Kurt's, mainly ridiculous pranks gone wrong and the like. It wasn't long before Jeff and Nick excused themselves to go to bed. Blaine turned to Kurt saying, "You know if circumstances had been different, the same thing could have happened to me. I ended up at Dalton because of bullying too." He looked over at the doors the others exited to, "They know my story already, I couldn't really hide it, I showed up at Dalton in a cast with bruises all over me. Everything escalated when I went to a dance with a friend of mine; we were both out and proud. These jocks beat us up, to show how little the approved of that. They were never caught and I ended up at Dalton. I understand Kurt, just know I understand." He punctuated the point with a sweet kiss. "We should probably go to bed too; those eight o'clock classes come pretty early."

**AN: I really don't know where this came from, it is pretty heavy there at the end. But it seemed the right time for Kurt to tell the story. I know that most of it we know from the show but I felt it was important to hear it from Kurt himself. I promise things will be lighter in the next chapter. Again let me know what you think, I just hope it wasn't too much angst in my little romance. **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN Thank you for all the add, favorites and reviews. Here is the next chapter, I hope you like it. This is mainly just fluff. There is another important AN at the bottom, because I don't want to reveal anything here... Enjoy**

When Kurt woke up that Monday, he worried things would be different with Nick, Jeff, and especially Blaine. He shouldn't have worried. Things were just as easy and friendly as before, plus the added perks of hand holding and kisses from a certain boy. The four boys still met in the suite to study, they still enjoyed meals together most of the time. However, Kurt and Blaine found excuses for more time alone, time Nick and Jeff were more than willing to give them.

Friday night found Kurt and Blaine in Kurt's room, alone, trying to finish their homework, in the hopes they would have the entire weekend to spend together doing whatever they pleased. Kurt was lounging on his bed trying to finish a series of sketches while Blaine worked on an English paper on Kurt's laptop.

Kurt was just shading the figure on his paper, when a chime and Blaine's voice interrupted his concentration. "Kurt you've got a call coming in on Skype."

Kurt scrambled to get up to reach his computer. Seeing the name on the screen, he yelped, "It's my dad."

"Do you want me to leave?" Blaine asked, not hiding his nerves very well.

"No it's fine, just switch with me for a minute."

Blaine stood up and made his way to sit on Kurt's bed, while he took the seat at the desk and hit accept.

"Dad!" Kurt exclaimed as Burt head filled the screen.

"Hey kiddo, how's it going?" Burt replied louder than necessary.

A sweet smile graced Kurt's lips, "Really good. How are things at home?"

"Good, miss you here, I tell you Finn is almost useless at the shop, between football and glee, he hardly comes in. I miss working with you." In the distance Kurt heard and indignant 'hey' from Finn causing both him and Blaine laugh. "Who's that with you?" his father asked peering around, like he could actually look past Kurt into the room.

"That's Blaine, we were doing homework, actually he was writing a paper on here when you called." Kurt said, laughing at his father's antics.

"And who is Blaine?" Burt asked, as if the boy wasn't in the room.

Trying to divert the conversation, "A boy Dad."

"Like a friend, or a boyfriend, type of boy?"

"DAD!" Kurt yelled.

His father smiled, "What? A father has a right to know these things. I don't care if you are ten hours away, you are still my son."

Blaine shifted uncomfortably on the bed. Kurt whispered, "We've gone out."

Just then, Finn's face appeared beside Burt's, "You've been dating that's great, dude!"

Kurt covered his face with his hands, trying to hide his blush. "Thanks Finn," he muttered… "Hold on a sec." He then reached to mute his mike and placed his hand over the camera. Kurt then turned to Blaine, "I am so sorry about this. My family is a little insane."

Blaine smiled at him, "They seem great, really don't worry about it."

"Do you want me to try and end this call so you can finish your paper?" he asked, really hoping that would be the case.

"No… no that's fine. I'm almost finished and that is the last of my work."

Kurt sighed, "They are going to want to meet you, is that too much too soon?"

Blaine shifted again on the bed, "Um… I guess we can do this, but can I ask you something first?"

"Sure" Kurt said slowly.

"_Are_ you my boyfriend?" The blush appearing on Blaine's face made Kurt's heart melt.

"Well, I don't plan on accepting dates from anyone else, so if you want to be." Kurt said bashfully.

"Great, yeah, so I am meeting my boyfriend's family over the computer. Okay I can do this." Blaine moved to kneel beside Kurt's chair while Kurt unmuted the mike and removed his hand.

"Sorry about that. Dad, Finn this is Blaine." He said quickly.

"Hello, Mr. Hummel, Finn. It's nice to meet you."

"Hey I know you!" Finn exclaimed in his usual childlike way, "We competed last year; you are from that private school too right?"

The four men talked for a few minutes, Burt clearly looking over at Blaine trying to decide if he should threaten the boy over the computer. As they were ending the call he said pointedly, "Call me in the morning Kurt, we need to talk."

When Kurt ended the call, he turned to Blaine. "Was that too incredibly weird?"

"A bit, but your family seems nice." Pulling Kurt into a kiss, they abandoned their homework for the rest of the night.

Their kisses however, were cut short when Nick and Jeff bounded into the suite breaking the mood into shards.

Kurt's conversation with his dad was easier than he thought it would be. All his father needed was reassurance that Kurt was being safe and taking things slow. And the pair were, aside from one particularly heated make-out session, they were still just enjoying being able to hold hands and kiss when they wanted to.

As midterms approached, Kurt was once again feeling overwhelmed with the amount of schoolwork required of him. Try as he might, he couldn't clear all of his homework before the weekend as he had for the past three weeks with Blaine. Instead, Blaine almost had to force him out of his dorm room to work at the coffee shop instead. They were there late the Sunday before midterm exams were set to start, with Kurt frantically trying to finish note cards for his classes, when Kurt's phone began to ring. He pushed the offending object over to Blaine, "Please see who that is."

Blaine lifted the phone, "It's Finn."

Kurt moaned, "Will you please answer it and tell him I will call him after these damn test are over?"

Blaine agreed chuckling and walked out of the coffee shop answering the phone. Kurt wrote the last information on his last study card as Blaine came walking back in smiling at his boyfriend. "Finn wanted to tell you that they won sectionals. He seemed excited, I told him you would celebrate with him next week when you weren't so stressed. Is your stepbrother always that excitable?"

Kurt smiled back, "Pretty much. Well all my work is done and I just finished with my cards, care to go back to my dorm and quiz me for my history final tomorrow?" His smile grew sad, "I'm sorry I haven't been much fun lately."

"Nonsense, I always enjoy spending time with you. And just think after mid terms are over we should get at least a week were things are easier. Maybe we could do something to celebrate?" Blaine said while helping Kurt gather his things.

"Sounds nice, I can't wait." Kurt said slipping into this coat. They made their way into the cold night to return to Hayden Hall.

Kurt's last midterm was Thursday afternoon; with them over, he wanted to dance around to celebrate. He knew that while the teachers graded papers and test, they would ease up on the weekly workload. He practically skipped back to Hayden Hall and to his dorm room.

Kurt called Finn, who happened to be at lunch so he was on speaker phone with all of New Directions when a knock came on the door. He opened it while Tina was asking about 'this boyfriend Mercedes told me about' to find Blaine standing in the doorway smiling at him.

"Well Tina, I would love to gush all about him, but it will have to wait, as he is standing in my room right now. I have to let you guys go." He didn't even say goodbye before Blaine was kissing him.

"You're finished for the week right?" Blaine asked pulling back. All Kurt could do was nod. "Great, tonight I am taking you out. I will pick you up at six, dress warmly." A kiss later and Blaine was out the door.

When Blaine returned Kurt was dressed nicely but warmly, not sure what his boyfriend had planned. Blaine grabbed his hand a pulled him out the door, planting a soft but assertive kiss on his lip. Blaine led him to a small romantic Japanese restaurant near Central Park. At first, Kurt was wary about sitting on the floor to eat, but he found that it just seemed more intimate like that. They lounged and talked while they ate, their hands constantly seeking the other. Throughout the meal, the two were in constant physical contact, whether holding hands or thighs lightly touching.

They walked towards Central park, and Blaine bought them large cups of hot chocolate before leading Kurt towards a line of carriages. Kurt gasp as Blaine began to pay the first carriage in the queue. "A carriage ride? Really Blaine" He said pressing his free hand to his lips.

"I thought it might be… romantic." Blaine said helping Kurt into the carriage.

As Blaine sat beside him, Kurt snaked his arms around his boyfriend's waist. "Perfectly romantic. You are spoiling me."

A warm wooly blanket across their laps, the boys snuggle close. Kurt rested his head on Blaine's shoulder, who kissed it before resting his on top. Kurt played with Blaine's fingers under the blanket as they rode in silence for a while. "You know I'm not seeing this, no good at romance thing you told me about, it seems to me you are a natural at it." Kurt said breaking the silence.

Blaine smiled against Kurt's head, kissing it again before speaking, "With you… it is natural. I just try and think of something that will make you smile. When you are happy, I am happy."

"You don't have to try and make me happy… being with you is all I need. I don't think I could have made it through the last two weeks in one piece without you here. You make all the stress bearable. You make everything better." Kurt said, bringing Blaine's hand to his mouth for a kiss before replacing them beneath the blanket.

They were passing a pond, lights reflecting off the water, soft music drifting through the air. Blaine lifted Kurt's head so their eyes met. "Kurt, never before has anyone else's happiness meant so much to me. I have never felt like this about anyone before… I love you Kurt."

Kurt's heart sped, he pulled a sharp breath in before, placing his hand on Blaine's face. His eyes glistened as he whispered, "Oh my god Blaine… I love you too." Their kiss was slow and sweet, filled with love and just a dash of longing. Several long moments later, when the need for proper breaths were became too much, they pulled apart, just enough so their foreheads touched. Kurt smiled and spoke again, "Everything that led me to this moment with you was worth it. I would willingly relive the taunts and the threats, everything, knowing I would end up here in your arms. You are worth it."

"I wouldn't wish anyone to go through what you did, but I am so glad to have you." Blaine's hushed voice assured.

The resumed their previous position cuddled together, taking in the sight of Central Park at night. Both feeling loved and complete, and utterly happy. When the carriage pulled to a stop, Kurt exited first and helped Blaine down. They walked hand in hand back to the dorms, quietly talking, exchanging occasional kisses.

Outside Kurt's door, they exchanged goodnights, and 'I love you's before promising to see each other in the morning.

**AN: I have a quick question: Now that our boys have been dating for a while, and have confessed their love, how do you feel about intimate moments, would you rather I up the rating and include them or gloss over them here and maybe post them as separate stories.. Let me know what you want me to do. **


	8. Chapter 8

**AN So sorry for the wait on this one (I know it was only a day, but I feel bad) I was having problems trying to decide if I like part of this chapter, so I had to let it sit and come back to it. Rereading it I think it works… I hope you agree. Thank you for your review and your response to my question… I think I will add the more detailed passages as another chaptered story, simply because I had someone asked me not to up the rating. I don't want to alienate a reader who is enjoying my story by changing the feel (going from T to M content) of the story since some don't read M stories. I will try to let you know when I post it with the exact name so you can find it. Anyway let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy.**

The next morning, as Kurt was leaving the building which held his English class, he heard someone calling his name. He turned around to see a man approaching him.

"Can I help you?" Kurt asked exercising all of the politeness he could, while trying to make it to his next class on time.

The man smiled back, "I am hurt; you don't remember me do you?"

Kurt wracked his brain, trying to recall this person in front of him, "I'm sorry, no." He gave the stranger a apologetic sigh.

"I'm James, we met at the Gay-Straight Alliance mixer."

Then Kurt remembered, he was the guy who couldn't take a hint that he was not interested. "That's right," Kurt said quickly, "what did you need, I kind of need to get to class."

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight." He said giving what he thought was an irresistible smile.

Kurt gave him another apologetic smile, "Sorry, I have a boyfriend." Then started to walk away. James followed.

"The way I see it, if you don't have a ring on your finger, you are still available." James said, keeping pace with Kurt as he made his was to French.

"Well, I don't see it that way, so sorry the answer is still no." Kurt said, picking up his pace, feeling very uncomfortable.

James placed his hand on Kurt's shoulder, "Hey, now don't be that way."

A shock of panic shot through Kurt at the touch. He swung around knocking James' hand away, "Don't touch me." He hissed.

"You afraid you won't be able to resist me?" James crooned running a hand down Kurt's left cheek.

Panic and instinct kicked in and before Kurt knew it; his fist rocketed through the air connecting with James' nose. He yelled, "I said don't touch me!"

A few people turned and watched the scene unfold as the lithe boy stood seething in front of the taller man with blood running down his face.

"What the fuck is your problem?" James screamed.

The adrenaline began to leave Kurt's body as James continued to scream insults at him, calling him a flirt and a tease. Kurt wasn't hearing only James anymore, now threats and insults from the past mixed and echoed through his mind. James was standing over him, unleashing unheard words, his scent and face morphing with that of another. Kurt's whole body was trembling. He placed his hands over his ears and yelled,"STOP!" The noise continued.

Finally, mustering all of his strength Kurt pushed the man away, sending him sprawling to the ground. His voice was low but full of venom and strength, "Leave me alone! I did nothing to deserve this, just leave me the fuck alone." Kurt turned, his classes forgotten and sprinted back to his dorm room ignoring everything around him.

Time seemed to stand still for Kurt, as he lay curled on his bed trembling with tears leaking from his eyes. He didn't hear soft footsteps making their way through the suite. Only when he felt the bed shift and a hand lightly touch his shoulders, did he realize he was not alone.

"What happened, Nick called me saying he saw you running through the park crying, he was worried about you." Blaine said, rubbing Kurt's arm.

Kurt couldn't get his voice to work, all that would come out were sobs. He rolled over pulling Blaine down beside him, burying his head in Blaine's chest his hands clutched tightly around Blaine's waist. Blaine held him, stroking Kurt's arm while making soothing noises, assuring him that he was here, and Kurt was safe.

Slowly Kurt's trembling subsided, and the tension slowly left his body. Laying a kiss to Kurt's forehead, Blaine whispered, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Kurt didn't move, but slowly told Blaine all about his confrontation with James. "I just kept hearing Karosfky and I panicked, I finally shoved him away and ran here. I just hate feeling defenseless."

Blaine held Kurt closer, "I don't know what you're talking about; it sounds to me like you held your own today. Sure, the guy was yelling and out of control, but you punched him and shoved him off. Sounds like he came out worse than you did."

Kurt sniffled, "I guess you're right, but he is probably not curled up on his bed crying about it."

"Hey, you said yourself that you tend to be emotional, plus it was scary and I'm sure you had an adrenalin rush then crashed, it seems like a natural response." Blaine told him, kissing his forehead.

Kurt couldn't hold his chuckle in, "even if he was curled up in his bed, he is all alone, while I have you here with me." Kurt looked straight into Blaine's beautiful hazel eyes, mesmerized by the swirls of color there. "I love you," he whispered pulling Blaine in to a slow passionate kiss.

Kurt's hands moved from Blaine's shirt, where they had been gripping, to cup his face. One hand moved to tangle in the hairs at the base of Blaine's neck. He then leaned over so he was above Blaine, deepening the kiss. Blaine's hand snaked up from Kurt's waist, slipping under his shirt.

They lost themselves in each other, all us forgotten but the man beside them. Needing to be closer, Kurt broke the kiss long enough to rid himself of his shirt, surprising Blaine, who seemed to drink him in for a moment before rolling him over on his back. Kurt eagerly resumed the kiss, relishing the feel of Blaine's hands over his bare torso. Deeply wanting to see more, feel more of Blaine, Kurt edged his shirt over Blaine's head.

The kiss paused as Kurt took in the sight above him. Blaine's hair was messy, his lips red and swollen. His olive skin contrasting with Kurt's own ivory. A light dusting of chest hair embellished Blaine's chest. Blaine's own dark eyes searched Kurt, surveying the perfection he found there. With less desperation, their lips met again, hands caressing, memorizing the feel of each other. Blaine began to trail kisses down Kurt's neck, stopping at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Kurt moaned in pleasure feeling Blaine kiss, lick and nip and the sensitive skin.

"Blaine…" he moaned, louder than he intended, just as the suite door flew open. Nick and Jeff, not knowing what they were interrupting rushed into Kurt's room filled with worry.

"Kurt are you…" But the question died on Nick's lips, seeing his two friends shirtless, intertwined. "Sorry… oh man, sorry." He stammered, pulling Jeff behind him, closing the previously open door.

Blaine and Kurt looked at each other for a moment before bursting out in a fit of giggles. They held each other as the laughed deeply at the embarrassing situation. Catching his breath, Kurt finally said, "You know it might have been better to do this in your room."

Blaine kissed his chest once again before adding, "If we planned that it might have helped. You are gorgeous Kurt, absolute perfection." Kurt's skin began to glow with a rosy blush. "Are you feeling better?"

Kurt chuckled, taking Blaine's face in his, giving him another kiss, "Yes, much. I actually forgot about it. Thank you for being here." He looked down at their bodies again, "And for being _here_." He added with a smile.

"Anytime." Blaine answered with a cheeky grin. "We should probably go out there, I think Nick was about to have a panic attack. He was really worried about you earlier. He called me because he thought it would be easier for you to talk to me. While I am sure he knows you are okay now, we should probably assure him… is that okay?"

Kurt, playing with the hair at the base of Blaine's neck answered, "I suppose we had better, as long as you promise me we can do this again."

Blaine smiled in answer before standing, trying to find their discarded shirts. Handing Kurt his shirt, he then pulled his own over his head. Once Kurt was fully dressed again, he stood, bringing Blaine into another kiss, this one sweet but brief. "I love you, thank you for making me feel better, letting me see things a different way."

Blaine smiled, ran his fingers through Kurt's hair, and looked straight into his beautiful blue eyes before responding, "I love you too, Kurt. And I will do anything to make sure that you are happy and that smile stays on your handsome face." They linked hands and walked out of Kurt's room.

It took them awhile to locate Nick and Jeff, who were huddled in the corner of the Rec room downstairs. Kurt readily explained what had happened this morning, making sure to thank Nick for his concern and for calling Blaine to check on him. None mentioned the state Kurt and Blaine were discovered in.

When they were sitting around a table in the dining hall, Jeff asked, "So what are your plans for Thanksgiving?" It turned out that both Nick was going to Pennsylvania where his grandparents lived. Jeff was flying out to Ohio to see his family. Kurt felt a pang in his heart knowing that would be the first Thanksgiving he would be spending away from his family.

"I can't go home this year," He told the other boys, trying not to sound too upset.

Blaine squeezed his hand, "I'm staying here too, my parents are going to Hawaii. One of the perks of having a son in college they said."

That evening the four boys returned to the Rec room for a 80's movie marathon, enjoying one of the perks of dorm life. Kurt sat on one of the couches, his arms wrapped around Blaine, who was sitting between his legs. The only stares the received were from a couple of girls who were giggling at their cuteness. Kurt felt safe and happy watching _The Princess Bride_ with his boyfriend, their friends and several friendly faces.

Through the rest of the night, Kurt longed to take Blaine back to his dorm room for a little 'private time', but he wasn't sure how to make it happen. Instead, he held the man in his arms, and planned. He was dozing off by the middle of the fourth movie. Blaine noticed his grip slacking and his breathing evening out, and shook him awake. They left Nick and Jeff to enjoy the rest of _The Breakfast Club_, and walked quietly back to Kurt's dorm. A few slow, sweet kisses later, the bid each other good night and went to their separated beds.

Kurt woke up early to his alarm, set for a specific purpose. He hurriedly got ready for the day, leaving the suite before the sun was barely up. Kurt traversed the cold New York Streets, heading first to a convenience store, stocking up on supplies for the day. Next he found a stand on a street corner and bought a bunch of flowers, sunflowers in autumn red, yellows and oranges. Finally he made his way to their coffee shop, picking up their regular coffee order along with a Western Omelet Sandwich (Blaine's favorite) and a Greek Omelet Sandwich (Kurt's favorite). He hurried back to the dorm room wanting to make it back before the coffee had time to get cold.

He made his way to the 12th floor, to room 1221, Blaine's room. He knocked on the door, loud enough to wake Blaine if he happened to be asleep, but not so loud to startle him. He stood waiting, his arms tiring from holding the packages in his hands. Just as Kurt is raising his hand to knock again, a groggy Blaine, opens the door.

"Kurt!" he gives him a sleepy smile, "what's going on?"

Kurt smiled back at the tousled shape of his boyfriend, "I brought you coffee and all the fixings for a grand day in, sound good?"

"Sounds great, come in." Blaine invited Kurt in and then excused himself to the bathroom. Kurt had been in Blaine's room a handful of times before, but they mainly chose to stay in Kurt's suite. While Blaine was busy in the bathroom, Kurt put the Sunflowers in a black vase from his room. He pulled his laptop out of his messenger bag and set it on Blaine's desk chair, angling to face the bed. He the fruit and whipped cream in the mini-fridge and the crackers and popcorn on top of the microwave that stood on top of it.

Kurt removed his boots and heavy coat, placing them in Blaine's closet. By the time Blaine returned, Kurt had two lap trays ready with their breakfast and coffee. Blaine surveyed the setup appreciatively.

"Wow, you really went all out didn't you?" He said with a smile.

"I just wanted to make a special day in for you. Hopefully we won't be interrupted and we can enjoy a quiet day." Kurt said with a smile. They ate breakfast, while watching old cartoons on Kurt's laptop, reminiscing about their favorite childhood memories.

Blaine told Kurt about going to London with his parents and his antics trying to get the palace guards to break. Kurt told Blaine about his obsession with The Sound of Music; how he used to dress up like a nun, dancing around the house singing to his mother's amusement. Laughter reigned the morning, cartoons the soundtrack to their memories.

As the morning turned to afternoon, the mood began to shift. Soon they were watching old movies, feeding each other fruit dipped in the sweet whipped cream, arms around each other. Eyes were help longer, touches seemed to linger, but it was sweet not lustful. A tender afternoon spent basking in the presence of the one they loved.

No one interrupted them; they could almost imagine they were the only ones in the world. The illusion only broken by the city noises wafting from down below and the occasional voice coming through the dorm room door. As evening approached, their attention moved completely from the laptop and on to each other.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN I am so sorry for the wait for this chapter. I had a hard time getting this chapter going. I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think. Reviews often inspire me to write. I will try and submit the supplemental soon. (today?) **

Kurt woke up the next morning unsure of where he was. His shoulder ached from lying in one position all night, but feeling the weight of another arm around him, he smiles as he remembers the events of the night before, of the entire day before. Just spending time with Blaine, with no interruptions, no distractions, felt not only perfect but also so right. It felt like this was why he was here, nothing else mattered as long as he could have this man by his side he could face anything.

Kurt rolled over, so that he was facing Blaine once more. When he saw Blaine's eyes begin to flutter open, Kurt reached a hand out to stroke his hair out of his eyes. "Good morning." He whispered in a sleepy voice.

Blaine smiled groggily at Kurt, "Good morning." They lay entwined together, enjoying the closeness and the comfort of having the other there. Finally, Blaine's stomach broke the silence, rumbling loudly, causing the two boys to laugh.

"We should get dressed, and go find you some breakfast." Kurt laughs while rubbing Blaine's belly playfully. Blaine grabs him in a long teasing kiss, before reluctantly agreeing as his stomach grumbles again.

Kurt was the first to roll out of the bed blushing a bit remembering his current state of dress. Blaine smiled watching the flush spread across his bare chest and rising up his face as Kurt reached for his pants that had been flung across the room into a pile last night.

"How about I take a shower, and meet you at your dorm in about thirty minutes?" Blaine asked, as he sat on the edge of his bed trying to spy his clothes mixed amongst Kurt's across the floor.

"Alright," Kurt nodded, slowly buttoning his shirt, while thinking maybe it would be prudent to have at least one change of clothes here in Blaine's dorm. He walked over, placing his hands on Blaine's bare chest, leaned in for another kiss.

When Kurt opened the door to his suite, he was accosted by his suitemates. "Where have you been? We we woke up this morning and you still weren't here. We were about to call you to make sure you were still alive." Nick said in a rush.

Kurt let a laugh slip from his lips before noticing the worried looks on the other boys' faces. "I'm sorry, I was with Blaine, I thought you would just assume…"

"We did yesterday, but you still weren't here this morning." Jeff said.

"I stayed in Blaine's room." Kurt said, waffling between being annoyed and amused. "It's not like I am a child, you aren't my dads."

Jeff shot back, "You technically aren't an adult either. Excuse us for being worried about you, you are our friend Kurt."

"Listen, just because I am seventeen, doesn't give you the right to act like I am a child. Now if you will excuse me, I need to take a shower." Kurt spat at the two, hating that they were throwing his age in his face.

"Kurt, that's not what…" Nick began before Kurt cut him off.

"I really don't care what you meant right now." He then turned and gathered his things from his room.

Once Kurt was dressed and ready to go, he exited the bathroom to find Blaine whispering with the other boys. "I can't believe you said that to him. Yes, we should have let you know where we were, so you wouldn't worry, but he is not some fragile child who needs looking after…"

"We know that, I was just worried something had happened to him. When he came in here acting as if nothing was wrong, it made me mad." Jeff tried to defend himself.

Kurt walked over to the group, laying a hand on Blaine's shoulder as he started to speak again. "Blaine, it's alright, I knew he didn't mean it. I'm sorry, I should have let you know there was no need to worry. I understand that your worry comes from a place of caring, but… please don't act like you are so much older than me. We are in the same boat here, we are all college freshmen. Now if you want we can set some ground rules, like if anyone is going to be gone for the night we let the others know. But if we have that rule, it applies to all of us not just me." Once that was agreed upon, the boys all went out on the town for breakfast.

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, Kurt began to withdraw into himself. As Nick and Jeff talked excitedly about their plans and traditions, Kurt sat trying not to dwell on all that he would be missing this year. It had been a hard realization when he first moved to New York, that Friday Night Dinners were a thing of the past, but he hadn't thought ahead about how missing Thanksgiving would feel.

On Tuesday, both Nick and Jeff left to return to their families for the holiday, leaving Kurt in the dorm alone. Blaine was recording an assignment in the music lab, and Kurt found himself on Skype with Mercedes.

"I really wish you could come home, I don't know what I will do on Black Friday without you." She said, giving her best friend a sad smile.

Kurt heaved a sigh before responding, "Me too, Cedes. But in just a few weeks I will be home for Christmas break I have a meeting with my advisor next week to register for my classes for next semester. Then I will be able to buy my ticket to come home. Then we can really catch up." Then he added coyly. "And you should be able to met Blaine."

"Is he coming home with you?" she asked nearly bouncing off the computer screen.

"Well, he's from Columbus, and I assume he will be going home for Christmas, so I don't see why you shouldn't get to meet him."

Soon their conversation turned back to Thanksgiving. Kurt didn't hear Blaine open the suite door and approach Kurt's room. "I can't believe I won't be there this year. Last year we were still trying to get used to being a family, now it feels like I am not a part of it any more. I just, I wish I could be there…"he heard Kurt say.

"I know Boo, but at least you have Blaine there with you. What are you doing?" Mercedes asked Kurt.

"I don't know, I haven't asked. I mean we can't cook here since we have no kitchens. I really don't know what we can do to make it feel like a real Thanksgiving. To be honest, it's a little depressing to think of Thanksgiving, not only without my family, but without turkey, dressing, and all that." Hearing this, Blaine, slowly backed out of the dorm, leaving an unsuspecting Kurt to end his conversation.

It was late in the afternoon by the time Blaine returned to the dorm. "Did you have problems with your song? You should have been back hours ago." Kurt asked when Blaine walked in Kurt's dorm.

"A bit, but I also had a few errands to run before I came back here." Blaine said, giving Kurt a welcoming kiss.

Kurt cocked his head, "What errands?" he asked.

"Sorry, I can't answer that, it's a surprise." Blaine said with a smile.

When Thanksgiving finally arrived, Kurt woke up to find his bed empty. Blaine had stayed the night last night, but instead of the two snuggled up in the small space, Kurt was there alone. On his way to the bathroom, Kurt noticed a note on his door:

_Kurt, _

_I went to get some things for today. I will be back around 1:30. Happy Thanksgiving. I love you._

_Blaine._

Kurt mused over the note before glancing at the clock, he still had three hours before Blaine would be back. He spent that time not just getting ready, but hyping himself to make this the best Thanksgiving possible. Because while this Thanksgiving wasn't Kurt's ideal, it was his first with Blaine, the first of what Kurt hoped would be many with the man. Kurt put his feel good playlist on his iPod and danced around the suite, soaking up all the happy energy he could.

By the time Blaine walked in the suite door, Kurt was all smiles, bubbling with excitement. He ran up to Blaine kissing him before helping to relieve him of the many bags he was carrying. "What is all this?" Kurt asked placing his bags on the table.

"Thanksgiving dinner. I found this mom and pop restaurant taking orders for real Thanksgiving dinners. I just had to go pick it up this morning. It may not be exactly what you are used to, but I thought it would be better than Chinese." Blaine told him, taking Kurt into his arms.

Kurt gave him and enthusiastic kiss, "You did have to do this, but thank you!"

Blaine laughed at Kurt's obvious excitement. "That isn't all. Go get your laptop." Kurt gave him a confused look, which Blaine just ignored. Turning to the table, Blaine began unpacking the various dishes, and setting the table. When Kurt returned with his laptop, Blaine took it from him, setting it in the middle of the table, and opening it up without another word. He continued to set the table, ignoring Kurt's questions.

Just as Blaine was filling their water glasses, Kurt's laptop began beeping, signaling an incoming call. Kurt jumped in his seat looking at the name that appeared on the computer. "It's dad!" Kurt exclaimed.

"I know," Blaine told him with a smile, "answer it."

When the window popped up, Kurt not only saw his dad's smiling face, but Finn and Carole too. They were all gathered around the dining table at home, the Hummel Thanksgiving feast before them. "Hey bud! Happy Thanksgiving." Burt laughed, a big smile on his face.

"Hey dad, what's going on?" Kurt asked, laughing seeing his family all together.

"Well, we are going to have Thanksgiving dinner together. I never would have thought of doing it this way, but when Blaine called…" was all Burt got out before Kurt turned to his boyfriend.

"You did this?" Kurt asked, tears in his eyes.

"Well, I know how much you wanted to spend this time with your family…" Kurt cut him off with a kiss, unmindful of his families eyes on him.

"Oh my god Blaine, thank you. You don't know how much this means to me. I love you!" Kurt told him, holding Blaine's face between his hands.

Blaine went to return the kiss but was interrupted by Mr. Hummel's voice, "Hey now, don't forget about us." He sounded made, but when the boys saw his face on the computer screen, he was smiling at them.

Dinner was lovely, if not a little strange, sharing it over the internet. For an hour they sat around the respective tables eating and talking about the last few months. Kurt's family asked Blaine questions to learn more about him. Kurt beamed at his boyfriend, watching him interact so easily with his family. Finn told stories about the New Directions, leaving everyone laughing at the shenanigans of the group. All too soon, everyone was in a sleepy haze from all the delicious food. Kurt reluctantly bid farewell to his family, as he held Blaine's hand.

Once the call was ended, Kurt pulled Blaine into his arms. "I can't believe you thought of that. I think that was the best Thanksgiving ever."

Blaine pulled back just enough to look Kurt in his eyes, "Really?" he asked with a look of disbelief.

Kurt smile, "Really, I mean it was a little strange, and it would have been nice to actually be there. But I just had Thanksgiving dinner with my family, and the best boyfriend ever. What could be better than that?"

Their lazy kisses, lead them to Kurt's bed, where they didn't intensify, but slowly ended with the boys content in each other's arms. Lulled to sleep by the others even breathe, they lay together happy and in awe of the other.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Here is the next chapter, I hope you like it please let me know what you think. Thank you Uriah Cullen for your review last chapter, it meant a lot to have your feedback!**

Black Friday found Kurt scouring stores for deals for his families Christmas presents. After hearing his detailed plans, Blaine begged of Kurt's shopping excursion. This didn't bother Kurt in the least, as it gave him ample opportunity to include Blaine on his shopping list without having to worry about distracting him.

Kurt being the expert shopper, found perfect gifts for everyone, only going slightly over budget. He did feel guilty dipping further into his savings than he intended. Kurt knew that that money needed to last until he graduated if he didn't want to have to add work into his already busy schedule. He had shown great restraint, especially when surrounded by designer clothes offered at a steep discount. However, Kurt hadn't bought himself so much as a new scarf since being accepted into NYU. Back at his dorm he stowed all of the gifts away in the back of his closet, waiting to wrap them until he was back in his room in Lima.

The rest of the weekend was spent in laziness, curled up with Blaine. They were mildly disappointed when Nick and Jeff returned Sunday, but enjoyed hearing about their holiday. Classes were intensifying again as the semester grew to a close, but Kurt was feeling better prepared since midterms.

Tuesday, Kurt had his meeting with his academic advisor. He knocked tentatively at the door, and waited until he heard a voice invite him in.

"Ms. Leone?" He asked peeking his head in the door.

The petite blond behind the desk smiled at him, "You must be Kurt Hummel, please have a seat."

They talked about the classes Kurt needed to take for the next semester. The basic freshmen classes were easy to decide on, English II, French II, and History II. They also decided a Survey of Mathematics Class would be good for fulfilling his remaining math credit. Kurt felt at ease talking to this woman, as she seemed to understand the rigors of being a college student. She suggested to him taking summer courses to ease his work load in later semesters. Their talk then turned to the classes for his major.

"For Fashion Design, they suggest you take Fashion Construction, before you take any more design courses. Now for this class it's recommended that you have a professional grade sewing machine and serger. We do have a sewing lab, however, the machines are older, and the lab hours tend to be limited." She told him glancing down at the folder on her desk. Kurt cringed at the thought of how much these machines would cost.

"Does it have to be professional grade; I already have a sewing machine at home?" Kurt asked.

"From everything I have heard, the work load may be too much for a regular machine. Now if you want to try it, that would be up to you, but the machine may burn out before the semester is over." Kurt nodded.

In the end he would be taking, English, French, History, Math, Sewing and Acting I. He thanked Ms. Leone, and walk back slowly to his dorm. He mentally calculated what this was going to do to his savings account. The suite was thankfully empty when he arrived, Kurt hoped that he would have a little time to himself to try and figure this out.

Just from his conversations with the other three men, he had gathered that money was not an option. The expense that tuition at Dalton must have been aside, they casually mentioned fancy vacations and cars like they were nothing. He didn't think they would understand the predicament he was in.

His research did not make him feel any better. Good sewing machines were expensive, not even looking at professional quality. Adding a professional serger to the cost not to mention fabric, thread and other supplies, Kurt knew what this meant. He couldn't afford to go home for Christmas. He looked dejectedly at the closet where the bag of presents he would have to mail sat. A tear slid down his cheek as he thought of spending Christmas all alone. Everyone would be going home for Christmas break, he wouldn't even have Blaine to make this better.

Kurt pulled out his phone and called his dad to tell him the bad news, but couldn't bring himself to tell his father yet. Instead, Kurt lay on his bed clutching his pillow as he sobbed. This is how Blaine found him an hour later, when he returned with Nick and Jeff from a bit of Christmas shopping.

Kurt heard his door squeak open and saw Blaine's face screwed in concern. He tried to smile, he tried to show Blaine it wasn't that bad, but only a sharp sob escaped his lips.

"Kurt, what's wrong?" he asked bringing him in his arms.

Kurt buried his head in Blaine's shoulder, mumbling words Blaine couldn't quite catch. Blaine lifted Kurt's chin, and locked eyes with him, before repeating the question.

"I can't go home for Christmas." Kurt whispered his heart practically breaking again.

"Why not?" Blaine asked.

Kurt explained all about the his surprised expenses coupled with his dwindling bank account. Blaine drew Kurt to him again. "I can buy your ticket home." He offered with a kiss.

Kurt pulled away again, "No, you can't do that, it is too much."

Kurt could see the confusion on his face, "But Kurt, I know how much this means to you, I mean Thanksgiving is one thing…" Seeing the determined look on Kurt's face Blaine changed directions, "Fine, I will stay here to, I can't have you spend Christmas alone."

"Now you are just being ridiculous, there is no reason we should both stay here, you should go home and spend time with your family." Kurt said crossing his arms across his chest in defiance.

A smile sprang on Blaine's lips, "What if we rented a car? No, listen, we can talk to Jeff and Nick and split the cost between the four of us. We should be able to rent a car to go down there and another to come back for less than the price of one plane ticket. What do you say?"

Kurt thought about it for a minute, it should be doable. Plus back home he should be able to work for his dad and earn some extra money. "Okay, if Nick and Jeff agree then I'm in… thank you Blaine."

They went and talked with Nick and Jeff. At first the pair wasn't looking forward to a ten hour drive back to Ohio, but seeing Kurt's face drop, they quickly changed their minds. "Hey it has got to be better than riding here with our parents right?" Nick said with a smile.

The last few weeks of the semester flew by in a flurry of essays, projects and studying. Kurt was once again frantic the weekend before finals, but Blaine helped to keep him grounded. Exams finished, Kurt practically danced back to his dorm. He only had two days to pack before they would be heading back to Ohio.

Packing was a chore, they would be in Ohio for almost three weeks and he was only allowed 2 suitcases, including one for his presents. Blaine sat on Kurt's bed watching him meticulously comb through his closet trying to find the most versatile pieces. Once he tried to enter the closet with Kurt only to be shooed out with the threat of bodily harm, owing to the fact his Christmas present was stashed there.

Sunday, Blaine left to go pick up the rental car. Kurt packed his toiletries in his bag, as Nick and Jeff scrambled around packing at the last minute. Kurt teased them about waiting so long to pack, but was too excited to see his friends and family to give them too hard a time. It was almost noon by the time Blaine made it back to the dorms.

"What took you so long?" Kurt asked since Blaine had left over an hour before.

"Driving in New York is a lot different than walking it." Blaine laughed. "I never really paid attention to which streets went which way. And it is defiantly different than driving in Ohio. By the time I could stop and get the GPS working, I had no idea where I was."

Soon the four students were on the road, music blaring and singing at the top of their lungs. This trip was already shaping up to be more fun than the one with his family. They stopped for a late lunch outside of the city. The closer they came to Ohio, the quieter the group became. They still laughed and sang together, but they manic fun at the beginning of the journey was starting to ebb away.

After stopping for dinner, it was Nick's turn to drive. Kurt and Blaine cuddled together in the backseat whispering to each other.

"Are you sure you want to drop me off at my place? We can drop off Nick and Jeff in Westerville, then drop you off in Columbus, and I can take the car to Lima. In the morning I can turn it in for you." Kurt said quietly.

"No, I don't want you driving late at night by yourself." Blaine told him with a squeeze.

Kurt rolled his eyes at this boyfriend, "And I don't want you to have to drive two hours by yourself back to Columbus. This is really ridiculous, Blaine you know that." He sighed trying to think of a way to convince Blaine to just let him take the car."

Blaine's face brightened however, "Do you think your dad would let me stay at your place tonight?"

Kurt caught on to the idea, "Maybe, I mean if it is going to be late when we get there I bet I can convince him."

They murmured other plans about the holidays between them until the rhythm of the car lulled them to sleep. Before they knew it they were pulling up to Jeff's house. Kurt stretched as they all got out to say goodbye to Jeff. Kurt gave a surprised laugh when Jeff pulled him into a hug, "Merry Christmas Kurt." He said before pulling away.

He received another Christmas hug from Nick a few minutes later at his house. Kurt couldn't contain his smile as he sat in the drives seat ready to head to Lima. "What are you so happy about?" Blaine asked with a smile.

"It's just nice, being hugged… you know by guy friends. I mean… I had male friends in High School, but a pat on the back was about as affectionate as it got. I mean Finn hugs me, but he's my brother. And I got plenty of hugs from the girls, it was just… nice." Kurt said, not noticing the sad smile Blaine was giving him.

It was almost midnight by the time they pulled in front of the Hummel house. Kurt killed the car, before turning to squeeze Blaine's hand, "Are you ready to _really _meet my family?" he asked.

Blaine leaned over the console, capturing Kurt's lips. "I would love to."

Kurt opened the trunk and grabbed his suitcases. They left Blaine's for the time being, not wanting to seem presumptuous that Burt would let Blaine stay the night. Kurt slipped his key into the lock and let them into the house. Kurt could hear the TV playing quietly in the living room so he called out, "Dad, I'm home," as he set his bags down on the floor. He could hear feet hurrying across the wood floors as he went to remove his coat.

"Kurt!" Finn called as he rounded the corner before snatching him up in a bear hug.

"Oh god!" Kurt yelped in surprise. "Let me breath Finn!"

Finn lowered him sheepishly back to the ground, "Sorry dude, I've just missed you."

Kurt couldn't help but grin, "I've missed you too, Finn."

"What about your old man kiddo?" his dad said smiling from the doorway. Kurt rushed to his arms, hugging him.

"Of course I missed you! Carole too." Kurt smiled at his stepmother who was just coming down the stairs. Kurt gave her a quick hug before retreating back to Blaine who was standing awkwardly by the door. "You remember Blaine right?" he asked grabbing his hand.

They all greeted Blaine enthusiastically who beamed at them all. Finn offered to take Kurt's suitcases upstairs, so Kurt turned to his dad. "Hey dad, it's awfully late, would it be okay if Blaine crashed here for the night so he doesn't have to drive back to Columbus?"

"Sure, let me just make up the couch." Mr. Hummel said with a smile.

"Dad… you aren't really going to make him sleep on the couch are you?" Kurt asked.

Burt seemed to catch on a bit, "I don't see why not, this is my house Kurt. It is only appropriate…"

Kurt tried hard not to roll his eyes, "Dad, I'm in college now…"

Burt cut him off, "and you are only seventeen."

"All we want is to sleep in a comfortable bed for the night. Did you feel those beds in the dorms? Not high quality, Blaine doesn't even have a mattress pad. Please don't subject him to the couch when I have a fabulously comfortable king sized bed upstairs. All we want to do is sleep." Kurt pleaded with his father.

Burt heaved an exasperated sigh, "Fine… but no funny business."

Kurt held in his squeal, but kissed his dad's cheek before putting on his coat to help Blaine get his bags from the car. Before they headed upstairs, they bid goodnight to his family. Kurt led Blaine to his bedroom. Everything was just the way he left it in August, he could tell Carole had been in here to dust, but nothing was moved. They set Blaine's suitcases in front on the closet.

Tentatively they got ready for bed, because it was different from the dorm room. Kurt's family is just down the hall. Kurt changes into his pajamas and sits at his vanity moisturizing. He watched Blaine's reflection in the mirror, thinking how perfect it was, having him here like this. Kurt was only halfway through his routine when Blaine offered him a hand, inviting him to bed. Kurt took it without hesitation.

Snuggled in bed, the two exchange sweet kisses before curling up together in the oh-so-soft bed to sleep. Kurt laid his head on Blaine's chest, letting his steady, strong heartbeat lull him into a dream laden sleep filled with the man beside him.

The next morning, Kurt woke in his childhood bed, with his college sweetheart wrapped around him. He lay there a moment, marveling at how this could happen. He was loved, not just by his family, but there was a man in this world, who he loved more than anything, who loved him back. The number of nights e had laid in this bed, dreaming of love, but nothing compared to the reality.

He felt Blaine stir, and decided to wake him up fully with kisses. Kurt's door flew open startling the two boys apart. They looked up to see a flustered Finn standing in the doorway.

"Dude, sorry… I didn't know…" He stuttered.

Kurt couldn't help but give Finn a half annoyed smile. He knew Finn tried to be accepting, he tried to be a good brother and most of the time he was. Kurt sat up in bed and said, "It's okay Finn what did you need?"

Finn looked once again between the two men in bed before replying, "I have to go to school today, and I know everyone would love to see you. How about showing up at glee today?"

Kurt and Blaine exchanged a look, before Kurt answered, "I would like that, but don't tell anybody, I want it to be a surprise. Okay?"

"Cool dude!" Finn said with a huge smile on his face, heading back down stairs.

"Are you sure it is a good idea, going back there?" Blaine asked, his brow furrowed in worry.

Kurt sighed, not in annoyance but in relief at what he was feeling, "Yeah, I mean… the bullies, they can't hurt me anymore really. But I would feel better if you were with me… just in case." Kurt laughed, "Plus I want to show my hot college stud off to my girls!"

By the time they dressed and made it downstairs, Carole and Finn were already gone for the day. Mr. Hummel sat at the kitchen table finishing up his breakfast. When he saw the two young men enter the kitchen, he smiled at them. "Kurt, the keys to the Navigator are on the hook."Seeing Kurt's confused expression he explained, "He drove his truck, like he does most days. Says it doesn't feel right driving your car."

Kurt laughed in confusion, "But I gave it to him."

His Dad just smiled, "I know but he says that it is yours over Christmas and summers, so he only drives it enough to keep it in good condition."

Kurt's heart fell; he forgot that he hadn't talked to his dad or Blaine about summer school, what with the drama of being able to come home for Christmas. "About summer dad, I won't be able to come home. I have to take summer classes if I am going to be able to graduate without killing myself."

"But that wasn't the plan." Burt said, trying not to sound too disappointed.

Kurt sat down at the table, "I know dad, but I can't continue to take 18 hours each semester. Ask Blaine, I nearly went insane. I am taking the same workload this semester to stay on track but I am going to finish up my French and take my Anatomy classes this summer. With those four classes out of the way, I can still double major, but not kill myself for it. You know next year I am expected to audition for the shows as a major. If I get cast, with my workload and whatever projects I have for fashion… ther just wouldn't be enough hours in a day to get it all done." Tears began to well in Kurt's eyes, "I'm sorry Dad, it's not that I don't want to be here with you…"

Burt cut him off bringing him into a hug, "I know kiddo, I know. I just… it's hard not having you around."


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Sorry for the wait, this chapter was harder to write than I thought it would be. Nothing was coming. Let me know how it was. **

When Burt left, Kurt busied himself making breakfast for the two of them. As he was cutting up vegetables for some omelets, Blaine spoke. "So you are staying in New York for the summer?"

Kurt tried to keep his focus on the pepper he was chopping and replied, "Yeah, like I said I really have no choice. What about you?" He wanted to look up at Blaine but was afraid of what he might see. He was afraid there would be disappointment in his eyes.

"My adviser mentioned it, but I wasn't sure. I figured everyone else would be coming home for the summer… but if you were there…" Blaine let the thought hang in the air. Kurt chanced a look up at his boyfriend.

"It would be nice if we were together." He said with a smile.

Once breakfast was finished, Kurt followed Blaine to the car rental agency to return the car. That finished, Kurt drove Blaine around , introducing him to the exciting town that was Lima, Ohio. Blaine laughed at Kurt's scathing descriptions of his hometown. "Oh yes, and there is Breadstix, the absolute pinnacle of Lima dining. Dry imported breadsticks and sub-par faux Italian cuisine. It is only the spot to be."

"You really don't like this place, do you?" Blaine asked still with a smile.

"It's fine really, I mean, my family is here, that makes it home I guess. I just never quite fit in here. Now New York, I feel comfortable there, because I don't have to apologize for being me."

Soon it was time to head over to McKinley. Kurt was surprised how calm he was, however, he could see Blaine fidgeting in the seat beside him. He reached over the console and clasped his hand around Blaine's, trying to show him it would be okay.

Kurt pulled into the visitor's parking lot, feeling a bit strange parking in the front of the school. Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand again as soon as they were out of the car. It had become such a natural gesture between the two, they didn't even think about where they were. They made their way to the front office to sign the visitor's log. As Kurt led Blaine through the familiar halls he observed, "It is so strange to be back here, but not really be here anymore."

They rounded a corner and were met by a tall, thin woman with short blond hair. As she turned toward Kurt, a smile came to her face. "Porcelain, have you finally decided to come back and join my Cheerios?"

"Sorry, Coach Sylvester but my high school days are behind me." Kurt said, shifting uncomfortably.

"So the rumors are true?"

Kurt smile became genuine. "If the rumors are that I am attending NYU on a full scholarship for Musical Theatre and Fashion, then yes. I can't attest to anything else you may have heard coach."

Sue's gaze turned to Blaine and their clasped hands, "And who is this Porcelain? And I had such high hopes for you, what is wrong with you… he looks like he has been taking hair tips from Shue, his hair looks like the BP oil spill."

Blaine looked offended but Kurt merely laughed saying, "Coach you have to admit, he makes gelled hair look extremely sexy."

Both are surprised to see a smile form on the coach's lips. "Well I don't know about that…" She said, "but what are you doing here then if not rejoining my team."

"Just making a surprise visit to the glee club." Kurt told her.

"Why you insist on hanging out with that band of misfit losers is beyond me." The coach snapped.

Kurt seemed to stiffen a bit, "Well they are my friends, they stuck by me all last year…" His voice drifted off.

"So was I Porcelain, were you going to visit me?" She admonished with a stern look.

Kurt smiled again, "Of course, I was just showing Blaine around, and I was going to try and sneak into Cheerios practice right after glee. But running into you saved us the trouble."

"Get on with you… I have better things to do than standing here talking to you all day." She said, walking away.

Once they were out of earshot Blaine whispered to Kurt, "Has she always acted that way?"

Kurt laughed, "Yes, she has a reputation to maintain that she hates everyone here. Although I have always thought she might have a soft spot for me."

"Did she really call you Porcelain?" Blaine asked with a scowl.

Kurt could help but laugh again, "Yes, I think I am the only person who got to chose their own nickname from Coach Sylvester. She used to call me 'lady' until I told her she was being a bully. Porcelain was the best option she gave me."

They walked a little further before approaching a door. "This is the choir room." They listened for a moment to the teacher introducing the weeks lesson, 'Feelings'. Kurt tugged Blaine's hand and led them into the room. Hearing footsteps the teacher paused and the room was silent for a moment before it erupted in noise. Bodies flew down the risers crashing into Kurt, pulling his hand from Blaine's who retreated from the onslaught of people.

"Alright, I missed you guys too, but give me some space." Kurt yelled happily over the crowd.

"Guys back in your seat." Mr. Shue ordered the group. As the group sat back down, Kurt motioned for Blaine to join him, while Will continued to speak. "Kurt, what a nice surprise, what brings you to McKinley today?"

"Home for Christmas, and I wanted to visit my friends." Kurt said smiling. "Oh, I would like to introduce you to Blaine Anderson, my boyfriend." Kurt beamed at Blaine.

Mr. Shuester walked over and shook Blaine's hand and then said, "Kurt, Blaine, why don't you sit. We have to get through this assignment and then I can let the group go so we can all catch up properly."

Kurt sat next to Mercedes, letting Blaine sit comfortably beside him.

"As I was saying, this week's assignment is about feelings. I want each of you to sing a song about how you are feeling right now. I know that this is an important year for most of you, you are graduating and your life is about to change. I want your raw feelings, not necessarily what you present to the world."

Kurt raised his hand, "Mr. Shue, if I may for old time's sake?"

"That would be great Kurt." Mr. Shuester said, taking a seat and leaving the floor to Kurt.

Kurt walked over to Brad behind the piano and whispered in his ear. After a moment of conferring with the pianist, Kurt turned back to the group. "As you all are well aware, last year was pretty horrible for me. If I would have been forced to sing my feelings then… well let's just say it would have been a very dark, depressing and scared song. Now, I have been in New York for four months. Don't get me wrong, college is hard, and it isn't perfect, but… this song sums up how I feel now."

Kurt nodded to the Brad who started playing a simple tune. Kurt's voice started off soft as he sang, _Happiness. _Blaine's face broke out in a proud smile. He had heard Kurt sing a few times since _Blackbird _but seeing him beaming as he sang made him proud. Kurt looked out at his friends wanting each of them to know how happy he truly was. He lingered on Blaine, locking eyes as he sang, "and happiness is walking hand in hand." Blaine jumped in surprise as the glee club joined in to sing the last chorus with Kurt, adding the harmonies. He joined in too. However, everyone let Kurt sing the last line alone, his voice rising liltingly around the choir room. "For happiness is anyone and anything at all, that's loved by you." Kurt cut his eyes once more as the song ended to Blaine, and gave him a wink.

Mr. Shue walked up to Kurt patting him on the back, "Excellent choice Kurt, and it makes me happy that you are so happy." He turned back to the group, "Kurt has set the bar high for you, and we will start with performances tomorrow."

Kurt walked over to Blaine, taking his hand again, as the girls swarmed them once again. Finn and the other guys sat closer, trying to contain their curiosity. Kurt was bombarded by questions from the girls about Blaine and New York.

Kurt flushed at the attention, "I am sure the guys and Mr. Shue don't want to hear the details of mine and Blaine's relationship, we can have a slumber party soon to go over that. But about New York…" they all chatted until the bell rang signaling the end of their time. They talked about each of their majors, life in New York, and NYU. Kurt was proud of Blaine jumping right into the fray of conversation without reserve. He caught himself a few times, ignoring one question or another, simply staring at Blaine in wonder.

Kurt and Blaine waited behind with Mr. Shue as everyone else went to their last class of the day.

Shue turned to Kurt, "I really am glad you are happy in New York. You should let Em… Ms. Pillsbury know that you are doing well, she has been very concerned about you since you dropped out."

"Give her my regards, but I am afraid we should be off. I need to go drop Blaine off in Columbus before it gets too late." They exchanged hugs once more before Kurt led Blaine out of the room.

"Ms. Pillsbury?" Blaine asked.

"Guidance councilor, sweet lady, been off and on with Mr. Shue for a few years now I think…" Kurt began to explain when a voice cut him off.

"What are you doing here? I thought we got rid of the gay here." A gruff voice called down the hall.

Kurt spun around, but surprisingly the cold fear that usually accompanied the voice never appeared. "Karofsky."

Blaine clutched tighter to Kurt's hand either in support or fear, Kurt couldn't tell. He steeled his shoulders back, waiting to see what Karofsky would do.

"What do I need to do to get rid of you for good? I don't want to see you around here, why don't you run off again like the little fag that you are?" Karofsky growled, closing distance between the three boys.

"Give it up David, I am not scared of you anymore. You are the scared little boy who can't face the truth about himself. Face it, I haven't told anyone else your secret, why would I now?" Kurt said, not backing down as the football player stood over him. Blaine stood fixed at Kurt's side, tension running all through his body.

"What if I just made sure of that?"

Kurt dropped Blaine's hand for a moment taking a step toward Karofsky, making so the boys were standing almost nose to nose. "Leave me alone, I will not let you bully me anymore. I am not afraid, just so you know the last boy who wouldn't leave me alone ended up on his ass with a busted nose. Would you like to be known as the guy who let the fairy beat him up?" Kurt hissed at him.

Karofsky started backing away, whispering, "Just get out of here and keep your mouth shut, alright?"

Kurt turned toward Blaine, both visibly relaxing. "Oh god, did I really just do that?" Kurt asked unable to believe he had finally stood up to his tormenter.

"You really did." Blaine stated simply, with a smile before putting his arm around Kurt's waist to continue their walk down the hall.

Kurt let Blaine drive his car to Columbus, so Blaine wouldn't have to give directions. They are quiet in the car for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. Blaine finally breaks the silence. "Your friends seem really nice, and very excited to see you."

Kurt smiles, thinking of his friends, "Yeah, they are great. They seemed to like you too, maybe we will all be able to get together again, before we head back to NYU." Kurt pauses a moment before asking the question that has been plaguing him, "When will _I _get to see you again? I mean… I know I won't get to see you everyday like usual… but will I get to see you?"

Kurt had been nervously playing with the hem of his shirt, Blaine took his hand in his own before speaking, "Well, you said you will be working for your dad, so I guess whenever you are free. Listen Kurt… this isn't going to be easy for me either, I'm used to just being able to just walk to your dorm and see you anytime I want to, but it will be okay. You'll see."

Kurt tried to smile, "I know, I just… I'm going to miss not seeing you every day."

"Me too, but unless we can convince your dad to let me stay through Christmas we really have no choice." Blaine said with a chuckle.

"What about your parents?" Kurt asked.

"I thought you wanted to come home to see your family?"

"No, I mean, will I get to meet them, or…" Kurt let the question hang in the air. He knew that Blaine didn't have the same relationship that he had with his parents. He did not want to push or rush things. He just really needed to know.

Blaine shifted in his seat, glancing quickly over at his boyfriend sitting in the passenger seat. "Kurt, I don't know if that is a great idea. Don't get me wrong, I love you and I am so proud that you are my boyfriend… but… my parents… it's easier when we just pretend. Meeting you… they wouldn't be able to pretend anymore."

Kurt was struck by this, he wanted to be mad, but it just hurt. He took his hand back, and said, "Blaine, have you even told them about me?"

"I told my mom, it's my dad… he's the problem." Blaine said, clearly hurt by the absence of Kurt's hand in his.

"I don't want to pretend Blaine… if your parents, or you dad don't know that we are together… I don't think it is a good idea if I come around." He saw that Blaine wanted to object. "I am not saying I won't see you, but maybe it would be better for me just to see you away from your house. At least until you are ready and willing to tell them both about me."

Blaine sighed, taking Kurt's hand in his again, "Kurt, I'm tired of pretending to… if their home when we get there, I will tell them BOTH everything. I love you, and I don't want to hide that from anyone, ever."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Okay another difficult chapter to write, I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know. **

Kurt couldn't help but gawk at the house before them as Blaine pulled into the driveway. Kurt was expecting a house like his, what he wasn't expecting was a house easily five times the size of his home. The house was a red brick sprawling plantation home. White shutters accented each window, matching the white wraparound porch. It was clear that Blaine's parents weren't just well off they were rich.

Blaine stopped the SUV next to the sidewalk leading to the front door. Unfortunately, since Blaine grabbed his suitcases, Kurt had no other choice but to walk beside him, longing for the comfort of his hand. They made their way to the door, and Blaine put down his bags just long enough to fish his keys out of his pocket to let them in the front door.

Kurt barely heard Blaine call a greeting to the house in general, as he surveyed the entryway. The decorations were expensive but with a conservative air. Before he could comment, footsteps sounded over the hardwood floor as a woman walked hurriedly toward them her arms raised ready for an embrace. A tall man walked slowly behind her, half a smile in place. She was dressed in a green dress, accenting her hazel eyes, looking like she came straight out of a fifties television show. Her husband, was dressed in a grey suit, seemingly straight from the office.

"Blaine dear, we thought you were coming in yesterday!" the woman exclaimed taking her son into a tight embrace.

"Yeah, sorry about that mom, it was late when we got to Lima, so I just stayed with Kurt and his family." Blaine said, reaching back to take Kurt's hand but only finding air, as Kurt was frozen by the door. Blaine walked back, placing his arm behind Kurt's back, ushering him forward. "Mom, Dad, I would like you to meet, Kurt Hummel, my boyfriend." Blaine said, his smiling face denying the nerves Kurt know he must have felt.

Recovering a bit, Kurt reached out his hand shaking Mrs. Anderson's before offering it to her husband. "Please to meet you." He said, trying to show his confidence.

Both young men stared at Mr. Anderson as he let Kurt's hand hang in the air. Blaine began to shake his head in defeat, until Kurt spoke, lowering his hand, "I just wanted to meet you, but really I must be heading back to Lima, I promised my father I would be at work bright and early tomorrow. You have a lovely home, and it was nice to meet you."

Kurt was just turning to leave when Mr. Anderson spoke, "What kind of work does your father do?"

Kurt caught Blaine's surprised face as he turned back to look at the man who spoke. "He owns and tire and mechanic shop in Lima. I help him out when I can."

Something brightened in Mr. Anderson's face, Kurt couldn't be sure if it was amusement or interest. "And what do you do there, paperwork, inventory?"

"Sometimes," Kurt replied evenly, "But mostly I do whatever he needs me to oil changes, brake repair, rotate and balance tires, rebuild engines. Really whatever comes up I can handle." Kurt felt a burn of anger at this man's assumptions; he bit of a retort about not being a walking stereotype. He also saw his shock at the words.

"Are you sure you can't stay for dinner, I was just taking a pot roast out of the oven." Mrs. Anderson asked, either oblivious to the tension or wanting to defuse it.

"I would hate to impose," Kurt said glancing at Blaine, seeing a smile of pride beaming back at him.

Mrs. Anderson's laugh tinkled through the air, showing clearly her ease with the situation. "Nonsense, I want to get to know you better. Give me ten minutes to finish up."

With that the two adults left the room, one clearly happier than the other. Blaine grabbed his bags, telling Kurt to follow him. They walked into Blaine's room; it was large and bright. The curtains are drawn letting the setting sun illuminate the red walls. Bookshelves filled one whole wall, books of every shape, size, and color jumble each shelf haphazardly. A large bed, dominates another wall covered with a patchwork quilt. Kurt could picture Blaine lounging in this room, lazing on the bed with a book. He turned to him with a smile. "I love your room, it is just so Blaine."

"And I love you," Blaine replied with a cheesy grin taking him in his arms. "Thank you for staying." Blaine's voice was barely above a whisper, if his head wasn't resting on Kurt's shoulder, he might have missed it. "Just promise me that whatever my dad says, you won't hate me."

Kurt pulled back so he could look Blaine straight in his eyes, "There is nothing anyone can say to me to make me stop loving you. And I will try my best to win your father over with my stunning personality, but I can't promise to hold my tongue if he talks down to me. I will try but I can't promise, I don't know if you have noticed yet, but I do tend to speak my mind."

Blaine's laugh helped to lighten the mood, "And I wouldn't have you any other way. Come on, you will love my mom's roast."

The four gathered around the large dining room table, Mrs. Anderson brought out plates heaped with food. Once she sat she turned her attention to Kurt, who was seated across from Blaine, "So do you go to NYU too?"

Kurt lowered his fork to answer, "Yes, ma'am."

"How did you meet my son?" Mr. Anderson cut over his wife's undoubtedly kinder question.

"I am suite mates with two of Blaine's friend's, sir. We met when he was visiting Nick and Jeff." Kurt's words were crouched in politeness, but he kept his guard up.

Blaine addressed his father, "We started dating in October, though, after I asked him out."

"That's lovely dear, what…" Mrs. Anderson began before being cut off again by her husband.

"Ah, so he seduced you then?" He asked.

Kurt furrowed his brow in confusion, "Excuse me? I'm not following."

Mr. Anderson looked around the table like it should have been clear to all assembled, "Clearly you seduced him, hoodwinked him, because my son is not… gay, not really. He says he is for the attention. One day he will find a nice girl, settle down, and raise a family"

Kurt couldn't control the anger that burn within him, "I can assure you, that I did NOT seduce your son. He told you himself that he asked ME out, not the other way around. And I can tell you from personal experience, no one wants the kind of attention being gay affords you." Kurt felt Blaine's fingers brush across his trembling fingertips where they lay splayed on either side of the plate. He closed his eyes trying to calm himself.

"Dad," Blaine warned coolly, "I think it's time that you accepted the fact that I am gay. I am not going to find a nice girl to settle down with, but I have found an amazing man. I want you just to give him a chance."

Mr. Anderson did not say another word, but focused rather on the food in front of him. Kurt met Blaine's eyes, silently pleading with him to tell him what to do. Blaine gave Kurt a sad smile, before picking up his fork to begin eating again.

Silence covered the room as the four began eating. A few minutes later, Mrs. Anderson tried to speak again. "What are you studying at NYU, Kurt?"

Kurt looked at her and saw a true smile gracing her face, so he answered kindly, "I am a double major in Musical Theatre and Fashion." They all heard Mr. Anderson's huff but ignored it.

She asked a few more questions about school and New York, directed to both the boys. The more they talked, the more relaxed Kurt became. Mrs. Anderson did seem like a sweet woman who truly cared for her son, and wanted to accept whomever he chose to love.

"What is your favorite thing about New York, Kurt?" She asked before placing another carrot delicately in her mouth.

Without thinking Kurt answered, "The acceptance really, I don't have to be afraid to be who I am, people just don't care that I am gay. It was the best change from Ohio."

"How so?" she asked clearly interested. No one noticed the glares that Mr. Anderson was shooting them, too caught up in their conversation.

"It just isn't an issue there, at my old school… I had it rough, but I have not once had problem with anyone because I was gay." Kurt said simply.

Blaine added, "It really is a different place. Here, if Kurt and I were holding hands, who knows what might happen, but in New York, people don't even give us a second look. It's nice."

"Maybe you shouldn't go back to New York then." Mr. Anderson mumbled.

"What?" Blaine shot at his father.

"Maybe if you were here, you would see that, this being gay, is not what you want. Maybe this acceptance there is why you haven't given up on the idea of being gay." He stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm sorry dad, but that makes no sense."

Mr. Anderson rolled his eyes, like his son was being dense. "It's just because it is a valid option there."

"Mr. Anderson, if I may? If that were true then wouldn't Blaine have turned straight after he was beaten for taking a guy to a dance? If that were true wouldn't I have just dated girls instead of being run out of my school?" Kurt could feel his anger and frustration rising again.

"Not necessarily, Blaine was young when that happened; he couldn't really know what he felt. I always thought, that if we talked to Blaine, told him that he wasn't really gay, maybe he would understand that, but his mother never let…"

Kurt cut him off again, "I should hope not." He lowered his voice, taking all the anger out of it before continuing, looking straight at Mr. Anderson. "I know that it wasn't easy for my father to accept that I am gay, but he made one thing very clear to me… He told me that it wasn't my job to make the situation right, it was his job to be okay with it no matter what it took."

Mrs. Anderson smiled drawing all eyes to her as she spoke, "That is a very lovely sentiment, and I completely agree with it."

Blaine, who had been watching the exchange between his father and boyfriend anxiously, broke his silence. "Dad, I know that this is not easy for you. But I am tired of acting like there isn't a problem here, between us. I just… I'm your son, it shouldn't matter if I am gay or not. You should love me anyway."

Mr. Anderson's livid face broke hearing his son's quiet voice. "Blaine, I never said I didn't love you. I do, but…"

"With love there should be no buts. Either you love all of me, or you don't." Blaine told him quietly.

Kurt stood slowly, drawing all the Andersons' eyes to him, "I should probably go, I think this is a conversation best had without me here. It was a lovely meal, Mrs. Anderson, I am sorry that my temper may have made it awkward."

Blaine stood as well, "Kurt, don't go."

Kurt gave him a smile, "I should go, you three need to talk without my big mouth interfering."

"I think you may be right," Mrs. Anderson said before catching herself, "I mean about the talk, not about you interfering. Please come back and see us anytime Kurt, it was lovely to meet you."

Kurt gave her a kind smile, "It was nice to meet you too Mrs. Anderson."

"Please call me Beverly." She said with a smile.

"Beverly." Kurt then faced Mr. Anderson again. "Mr. Anderson." He said with a nod.

"Tim, you can call me Tim." He said quietly, but not averting his eyes.

Blaine walked Kurt out to his car. Once they reached it, Kurt turned to him. "I'm sorry I ruined dinner. I should have kept my mouth shut."

"I'm glad you didn't," Blaine said, snaking his arms around Kurt's waist and pulling him closer. "Thank you for standing up for me, for getting me here with him. I will call you later; let you know how everything goes."

Kurt closed the distance, kissing Blaine, trying to pour all of his love into that one brief meeting of lips. "I love you. I hope everything goes okay. You deserve to have your family accept you completely."

Blaine returned the kiss with just as much fervor, "I love you too, text me so I know you made it home safe."

A few kisses late, Kurt was in his Navigator making his way back to Lima. His thoughts wholly on his boyfriend, hoping he hadn't done too much damage to his already fragile relationship with his father. Only time would tell.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I have been thinking the last couple of days how I wanted to approach this chapter. The rest of the story is told from Kurt's POV, where we only know what Blaine is really thinking when he speaks. But from a story telling perspective, it seemed wrong to have this major event just be handled in a conversation with Kurt. I tried writing it, but it just seemed… flat. So this chapter focuses on Blaine's perspective The story will then switch focus back to Kurt for the rest of the story. Hope you like it, please let me know. **

Blaine walked back into his parents house, anxious for this conversation to take place. As he reentered the dining room he saw his mother clearing the table, and went to help. Hoping to delay what he was sure would be a screaming match just a little bit longer. He grabbed his and Kurt's plates and headed into the kitchen. His mom grabbed them from his hands, placing them on the counter before pulling Blaine into a tight embrace.

"Baby, you know I love you, right?" He whispered, rubbing her hands over his back like she used to when he was small.

Blaine tried to reign in his emotions as he answered, "I know, I have never doubted your love."

"Your dad loves you too, it's just harder for him. I don't know why." Blaine wanted to answer back, but wasn't sure if he wanted to reassure her, or contradict her. Instead he just sighed, tightening his grip around his mom. "If it makes you feel better, I like Kurt." She soothed in his ear.

"Really?" Blaine asked hopefully.

She pushed him away so she could look him in the face, "Really. He seemed sweet, and confident. He certainly has good manners, but is not afraid to stand up for himself. And I must say he is handsome to boot. He seems like a good catch." She chuckled.

Blaine's smile clearly showed his mom just how much he truly loved the young man, "He really is. I want you to get to know him, I want you to love him just as much as I do. Oh and you should hear him sing, It's like listening to an angel, I have never heard anything like it. He is smart, and funny and…"

"Blaine, you don't have to convince me." She laughed, but quickly became serious again. "Your father will come around eventually. We just need to be patient."

Frustration welled up within Blaine and he snapped, "I have been patient, he has had five years to come around! Do you know how awful I feel knowing he would act just the way he did, when Kurt's dad has been nothing but welcoming to me. Kurt has only been out for two years, granted he said his dad knew since he was three, but he has only really known for two years, he has always been accepting. Why can't Dad be like that? Why can't Dad just be okay with me?"

"It's not you I am not okay with." A frustrated voice called from the kitchen door.

Blaine whipped around to face his father, "But don't you understand, being gay is part of who I am, if you can't be okay with that, then you aren't okay with me."

"How do you even know you are gay?" His father asked.

"It's not that hard to figure out Dad." Blaine yelled. "It's not like it wasn't obvious to me that I am attracted to men. I tried, I really did, to like girls. I knew if I did everything would be easier. I even made out with one of the girls from Drama in eighth grade, but I felt nothing, it was just weird. She could even tell I wasn't into it. With guys it's different, with Kurt it's REALLY different."

"I don't know if I want to hear it." Tim said quietly.

"Well, you are going to. My first kiss with a boy, it just felt right. I knew that that was what kissing was supposed to be like, with butterflies and all that. With Kurt, it is so much more, it is perfect, because I love him. Can't you see what a great guy he is?" Blaine almost pleaded with his father.

"I don't want to talk about Kurt right now. One thing at a time, alright?" he huffed.

Blaine's face became hard, "But I do. If it wasn't for Kurt, we would still be pretending, you would still be pretending that I am going to 'straighten up'. He made me want to stand up to you, to stop playing this stupid game."

Mr. Anderson sighed, he looked more tired than Blaine had ever seen him before. "I understand that, but for right now, can we just focus on the less concrete proof of your homosexuality, please. I need to take this one step at a time. I promise I will listen to you sing your praises to that boy soon enough, but let me come to terms with the abstract first."

"What do you want to know?" Blaine asked quietly, not wanting to get his hopes up that his would turn out alright.

"Are you sure, one hundred percent sure, that you are gay?"

Blaine shook his head that he was even having to answer this question. "Yes, dad, I am positive."

"You aren't even, maybe, bisexual?" his dad asked almost hopefully.

Blaine couldn't help but chuckle at his dad, knowing he was gripping at straws. "No dad, I do not hold even a small attraction to women. I mean I can appreciate that a woman is beautiful, but only in an objective way."

Tim nodded, and seemed to take this new information in before speaking again. "Have you acted on your… attractions?" he mumbled.

Blaine nearly choked, which was a feat in and of its self, seeing as the only thing in his mouth at the time was his own spit and air. "Do we really want to be having this conversation?" he sputtered.

"I just need to know, how serious you have been with… boys. Do we need to have some kind of talk," Mr. Anderson's face got redder as he continued. "I would have to do some, research or something, but do we need to sit down and talk about safety and… mechanics"

Watching his dad fluster and stammer, Blaine realized that he was really trying, or maybe had finally accepted this. He decided to ease his father's fears. "I don't think a talk will be necessary, I have done all the research on my own, I know how things work," he saw both his parents flush a bit and clarified, "but not from my own practical knowledge. The furthest I have been has been with Kurt, and we are taking things slowly, so don't worry." Blaine's face was red, never had he thought he would have to have this type of conversation with his parents… both of his parents, and in the kitchen. "But I would rather not discuss in details my sex life with my parents. No offence but this is just… weird."

Both of his parents gave nervous laughs. It was clear no one was particularly comfortable with this part of the conversation. Blaine glanced once again at his father, unsure where the conversation should go from here.

"Okay," Tim said, "so, you're… gay." A beat later, "My son, is homosexual. Are you happy?"

Blaine could see everything finally sinking in, "Yes, Dad, I am very happy. Kurt, he makes me happier than I have ever been. Before… even when I was at Dalton, I was alone. Even when I dated before, they weren't… it wasn't like with Kurt. He's special… to me he is special."

A true smile graced Mr. Anderson's face at last, "Well then I think it's time that you tell me more about this young man."

The three Andersons talked for hours about Kurt, NYU and New York. For the first time in four years, Blaine felt himself opening up to both his parents. There was still some strain but finally things were looking up. He told them about wanting to stay in New York for the summer, his plans, his hopes and dreams.

As they readied themselves to go to bed, Blaine turned to his father and asked the question that had been nagging him most of the night, "Why now Dad, why is now different than any other time I have tried to talk to you about this?"

His dad turned back to him, "It was something Kurt said, about it not being your job to change but my job to accept. I don't know something just clicked, I realized that all I was doing was pushing you away. Knowing that you doubted my love for you, that really did it. There is nothing you could do or be to make me stop loving you. It may still take me a while to be completely comfortable with all of this, but I am getting there."

It was late before Blaine had a chance to call Kurt. Unmindful of the fact that he had to get up early the next morning, Kurt stayed on the phone talking with Blaine about everything that had happened with his parents. They groaned together as Blaine related the sex talk his father tried to initiate, leading to Kurt telling Blaine about his father and the pamphlets he insisted on talking over with him last year. It wasn't until Kurt was drifting off listening to Blaine's voice, did they end the call with declarations of love.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Here is the next chapter, I hope you like it. Thank you for your reviews and the adds, they really keep me motivated to continue writing. Let me know what you think. **

Being back in Lima was hard on Kurt. While he enjoyed spending time with his family and seeing his friends again, he missed being with Blaine. With Kurt working for his father, trying to earn enough to make up for the cost of his unexpected expenses, along with the two hour drive between them, they had little opportunity to actually see each other. For the first time in their relationship, they were apart, having to rely on late night phone calls.

This transition was hardest on Kurt; the combination of long hard days at the shop and staying up late talking with Blaine, was taking its toll. He wasn't resting and the lack of sleep was making him irritable with those around him, except Blaine. Blaine seemed to have a free pass when it came to Kurt's temper; even Finn noticed the change that would come over Kurt when his phone would ring.

Kurt regretted promising the girl a sleep over to talk about Blaine. When Friday night rolled around, he just wanted to lay in bed, talking to the love of his life. Instead, he was in Rachel Berry's basement surrounded by all of the glee girls, missing Blaine more than ever. For a while he listen to them gossip about all the news he had missed while he was in New York. He tried to seem intrigued by the scandalous stories they spewed, but it was forced. Kurt wasn't sure, but he felt that he had left this part of his life behind, and for the better. The old high school drama, that used to fuel their sleepovers, now just seemed like useless nonsense. Gone were the days when who was sleeping with whom, was the most important issue to discuss.

However, when the conversation turned again to Blaine, Kurt lit up. The girls all noticed his excitement to talk on end about Blaine. They asked all the right questions, just to keep that smile on his face. None of them had seen a smile like that grace their friend's lips ever.

"He makes you happy doesn't he?" Rachel asked hugging her pillow.

Kurt was taken aback by the question, "Of course he does, Rachel."

"I mean, it's not just New York that has made you happier, it is Blaine too. He has changed you." Rachel tried to clarify.

"No, he hasn't changed me." Kurt snapped before taking a soothing breath to continue. "I have been more myself these last few months. It's New York and Blaine, I don't have to constantly have my guard up there or when I am with him. So I guess I am different than the Kurt you knew… but I am still me."

Mercedes squeezed his hand, shooting Rachel a look, "I like the change, it's nice to see you happy, to see you smiling. None of us begrudges you that. You deserve the romance."

As if on cue Kurt's phone rang making his face light up even more; it was Blaine. He quickly hushed the girls before answering.

"Hi." He said quietly into the phone.

"I miss you, I know you are with your friends, but I just wanted to hear your voice." Blaine's voice answered quietly.

Kurt could feel all the girl's eyes on him but tried valiantly to block them from his mind as he talked with Blaine. "Oh, I miss you too. I might be able to convince my dad to let me off at lunch tomorrow, I could be at your place by around three."

"Do you think your dad will let you off? My friend Wes is having a Christmas party tomorrow night, he just called me, he didn't realize I was in town. Would you want to go, meet some of my friends? Nick and Jeff will be there too."

After agreeing to the party, Kurt knew he had to let Blaine go, otherwise the girls would start hijacking his phone. "I'll see you tomorrow then, I love you." Kurt didn't notice the girls exchanging glances around him. As soon as he hung up, they pounced.

"Did you just say the l-word?" Tina asked.

"Please tell me that means you are tapping that because I just have to say… wanky." Santana added.

The others just began giggling, watching Kurt's face redden under their attention. "My god, you act like this is the first time any of us have been in love." He chastised them.

"No honey, it's just the first time _you_ have been in love. Why didn't you tell us?" Mercedes scolded him.

"You are my best friends, I thought you would just figure it out. Yes, we have been exchanging 'I love you's actually, it happened the day I talked to all of you on the phone."Seeing their scandalized looks he clarified, "That night actually."

He went on to describe that night, in as much detail as he could. Even Santana smiled at the story although she punctuated it with, "I don't know why you have to complicate things with feelings though, seems like a waste to me."

The next day, Kurt was hard at work fixing the transmission on a '69 Mustang, when he heard his father call, "Hey Kurt, someone here to see you."

He glanced at the clock seeing it was just past eleven-thirty, he grabbed a rag to wipe his hands as he made his way to the front of the shop. The rag fell to the floor when he spotted none other than Blaine Anderson standing next to their fathers as they talked. He quickly bent over to pick up the fallen cloth before hurrying over to join them.

"Blaine, Mr. Anderson, what are you doing here?" He asked, interrupting their conversation.

"Tim here was just asking if we could replace the break system on his '59 Chevy. I told him I could send you over on Monday to work on it, if you felt up to it." Burt replied.

"S-sure. I mean I would just need to bring my toolkit shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. But wouldn't it have been easier to take it to someplace closer to you? I mean Hummel Tire and Lube is the best around, but I'm sure someplace in Columbus could do a half way decent job." Kurt was confused about this, he knew of course that Mr. Anderson was trying to be more accepting, but this just seemed silly.

"Well," Mr. Anderson replied, "I was hoping you could walk us through it while you do it. We tried to restore the thing a few summers ago, but we never got around to finishing it. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to get to know you, and maybe we could pick up a few things."

Once arrangements had been made, they bid Mr. Anderson goodbye, before Kurt left the shop for the day with Blaine. As soon as they were in the car Kurt turned to Blaine, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming out today?" he asked frantically.

"I didn't know until this morning. Why? What's wrong?" Blaine asked taking Kurt's hand.

Kurt softened a bit, "Nothing, I'm just a horrible smelly mess. And I thought I was just going to meet you at your house later… you know after I had time to clean up and I'm not covered in grease and dirt."

Blaine smirked at him as he said, "But I think you look hot. Don't get me wrong, you are always hot, but this is nice too." He leaned in for a kiss, which Kurt was happy to give, before they started to Kurt's house.

After a quick shower, Kurt came downstairs to find Blaine helping Carole make lunch while Finn sat watching, talking to the pair. Kurt stood in the doorway just watching the easy interaction of Blaine with his family. He couldn't help but think that this was what life was supposed to be like; the man he loves just being a part of his family. It wasn't until Carole spotted him that he moved.

"Kurt dear, would you mind ladling out the soup for everyone. Oh and make a thermos full for your dad, I told him I would bring him some later." Carole told him over her shoulder where she stood making grilled sandwiches.

Lunch was nice, Kurt was quiet, listening to his family interact with Blaine. He loved the ease their conversation together, and the fact his family just accepted Blaine, like he just belonged. And Kurt thought, he did, he just belonged there and it was nice.

That night they headed to Elm Wood, outside of Westerville where Blaine's friend Wes' parents lived. Kurt would be staying at Blaine's house that night, so he wouldn't have to drive back to Lima late at night by himself. Kurt was nervous to meet Blaine's friends, but it made him feel better knowing that Nick and Jeff would be there as well.

As they got out of Kurt's car, Kurt fidgeted with his coat nervously. Blaine put his hands around his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "There is no need to be nervous, they will love you. I love you."

Kurt leaned his head on Blaine's shoulder as they made this way to the front door. He only straightened up as Blaine went to ring the bell. A tall Asian man answered the door with a wide grin, "Warbler Blaine! Come in, come in."

"Afraid I am just Blaine now Wes." Blaine said with a chuckle.

"Nonsense once a Warbler, always a Warbler." Wes said bringing Blaine into a hug.

Blaine turned to Kurt, "Wes, I would like you to meet my boyfriend, Kurt Hummel."

Kurt went to shake Wes' hand but instead found himself being pulled into a hug. "Good to meet you Kurt; Nick and Jeff were telling me all about you."

"Oh dear, there goes the good first impression." Kurt told him hiding his face.

"Hey, we didn't tell them the good stories, thought we would save that for when you were here and we could see your reaction." Nick called from the other room.

"Dear lord, why couldn't I have gotten a single?" Kurt moaned making everyone listening laugh.

Blaine pulled him into a hug, to the added delight of those around and sooths, "But then you wouldn't have met me."

Kurt kissed him softly, "Well in that case I will take all the embarrassment and annoyance of living with those to."

The room at large laughed in varying degrees before calling in greeting to Blaine. Kurt walked up to Nick and Jeff, saying " You know I am kidding, I couldn't have asked for better suitemates. Enjoying your vacation?"

The night consist of meeting several of Blaine's old glee clubbers, some are off at college as well, while others are still at Dalton. He is amazed about the openness of the group; it is almost like being back in New York. Everyone makes Kurt feel welcome, he gets to talk about his friends once Jeff lets it slip that Kurt used to be a part of New Directions. Most of the party Blaine is right beside him, but when Blaine wanders off for one reason or another, Kurt happily finds himself in one conversation or another.

It seems all to soon that midnight is approaching and the couple have to make their way back to Columbus for the night. Kurt lets Blaine drive, and snuggles in the passenger seat. "I like your friends." He mumbles taking one of Blaine's hands.

"They are great guys."

"Why was I the only non-Warbler there?" Kurt asked, it had been bothering him a bit since they showed up that he was the only significant other there.

"Honestly, it was supposed to only be Warblers, but when Wes found out about you, he insisted that you come. I guess you could say they have been waiting a while for me to meet someone special." Blaine said blushing a bit.

The house was quiet when they entered, so they made their way upstairs to Blaine's room. For the first time since leaving New York, they were going to be able to enjoy a little private time together.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: This chapter is for monkeybunspotter. Thank you for the review, I am glad you like it and I hope you recover from knee surgery super fast! I was going to update Starting Something New(the naughty bit of this story) but I wasn't sure if you read that one, so instead I am going to write this chapter so hopefully you will have something to entertain you. **

Waking up in Blaine's bed, naked, entwined with his boyfriend would have been nice. If that bed hadn't been in his parent's house, and his father hadn't cheerfully walked in to find the boys snuggled together. Instead, they were awakened by a less than manly shriek of surprise.

Blaine's own surprised yell added to the noise, "DAD!"

Luckily the blanket covered most of their bodies, but Kurt squirmed further under them, flushing deeply and muttering, "Oh my god, Mr. Anderson."

Tim stammered quickly out, "Mom… made breakfast… get cold…" before hurrying out the door.

"My dad thinks we had sex," Blaine mumbled covering his face.

"Well…" Kurt said searching the floor for his discarded underwear.

"Not that," Blaine said, "You know like… sex sex. Oh my god, and we have to go downstairs and sit and eat with him… what if he says something to my mom?"

"I think as long as we don't have sausage links or bananas I think we can survive. Besides, he doesn't really KNOW that we did anything, we could have had bottoms on." Kurt tried to reason.

"Our clothes are scattered all over the floor!" Blaine practically yelled.

"Go get us some pajama pants; we can wear those downstairs, and some t-shirts. If they say anything, we can just say I borrowed some of your pants to sleep in. It's not like he caught us in the act." Kurt told him, trying to calm him. "But hurry otherwise it will seem wrong."

They quickly dressed to head down to breakfast. Thankfully, Blaine's mom made pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Mr. Anderson was pointedly looking at the food on his plate as he carefully cut up his pancakes.

"How was your party last night?" Mrs. Anderson asked setting plates of pancakes down in front of each of them either ignorant of the encounter upstairs or, unbothered by it.

"It was great; all the old Warblers were there. Trent, James and Luke are the council this year, they told us all about competition this year, Kurt old club beat them at Sectionals, you should have seen their faces when Kurt told them that was his friends." Blaine said, trying to relive the humor of the moment and forget about the incident minutes earlier.

Mr. Anderson seemed to loosen up more the longer they sat eating. Soon all four of them were chatting and laughing. None of the tension from their previous meal, or the embarrassment from earlier was present. It wasn't until Kurt and Blaine were heading back upstairs to get dressed for the day, that any returned.

"Blaine, if you are going to do… anything… or have Kurt sleep over… just… lock the door please." Time said before walking away shaking his head.

Kurt held his laughter in until they are back in Blaine's room, then he burst laughing clutching his sides. Blaine started huff away but Kurt brings him into a hug. "I'm sorry, but you were so worried about what he would say…and he just reminded to wants you to lock the door..." Kurt laugh began to die down. "We really should have locked the door in the first place, you know."

Blaine smiled at him, kissed him, then said, "Yes, we really should have," then gave a small laugh shaking his head.

Before leaving the Anderson house, Kurt looked over the car to see what tools and parts he would need the next day. After compiling a complete list, he turned to his boyfriend. "I will be here around ten tomorrow. Do you need me to bring you some coveralls? Because you will be helping me, your dad too."

After adding coveralls for both the men, the boys spend half an hour saying goodbye.

Kurt pulled into the Anderson's driveway the next morning stiff from the long drive so early in the morning. The garage door was already open so he made his way and heard voices bickering at each other.

"No, Blaine you can't use a socket wrench."

"Yes, you can you just have to have the right size."

Kurt walked into the garage his arms crossed over his chest. "What are you doing? What was the point of bringing me hear if you weren't going to wait on my expertise?"

Both men looked up startle, clearly caught in the act. "We just thought…" Mr. Anderson began before being cut off by Kurt.

"You just thought you would make my job that much more difficult? Now come and help me get the tools and parts from the back of my car." He turned and headed back to the Navigator, sure they would follow.

After handing them both some coveralls, the ordered them to go and change while he organized everything. Despite the rough start, things went well. Both of the Anderson men listened carefully to Kurt's instructions and asked for clarification instead of just doing what they thought was right and messing things up. Mrs. Anderson brought them soup, sandwiches for lunch in the garage (not wanting them to mess up the house in their filthy clothes), and marveled at the happy faces of the three men.

Once the breaks were replaced, Kurt went to work trying to tune the engine. Tim and Blaine marveled at the way Kurt would have them crank the car to life, and just by listening be able to tell exactly what needed to be fixed.

"How do you do that?" Blaine asked after the third time of this.

Kurt was leaned over into the engine, but pulled back for a moment to answer and saw the look of awe on both of their faces. "Well, experience, I have been hanging around the garage since I was little. But also… it's like music, you know when you are listening to a band and you hear something off, like the bass is out of tune or the drummer is lagging. It's the same with an engine. It's almost like tuning an instrument sometimes. You do it long enough and you can do it by ear." He returned to the engine, to show Blaine how to adjust the timing belt.

By the time they were finished, the sun had already set, but the car purred. "I never thought it could sound that good." Mr. Anderson marveled.

"I honestly didn't think it would ever run." Blaine said, shooting a smile at his dad.

Kurt laughed at the both of them, "You were both good students, but please, before you do anything just call me or my dad. Seriously this is too nice a car to mess up." He went into detail about how often to change the oil and what brand/type to use, before just telling him it might be safer just to take it to his dad for servicing.

Before leaving for the night, Tim thanked Kurt and insisted they go for a quick spin, before he left. They ended up parking on a hill overlooking Blaine's neighborhood and making out instead of taking a long drive.

"It does feel like this is what the car was made for doesn't it." Kurt said between kisses.

Friday night found Blaine once again at Kurt's house; this time for Friday night dinner and a New Directions Christmas party after. Dinner is filled with laughter, Kurt can hardly keep the smile off of his face through the entire meal. Watching Blaine and his dad interact is almost magical to him, even as they talk about football, a subject Kurt still has no interest in. Blaine periodically would reach over and squeeze Kurt's knee, flashing him a loving smile before returning his attention to the conversation.

Kurt didn't even mind that Finn asked to ride with them to the party. Once the box of presents was loaded in the back of the SUV the three set off for Mr. Shue's apartment.

"So, isn't it a little strange to be going to a party at a teacher's house?" Blaine asked.

"No, see this is the third time we have gone there as a group. We had… well sort of a party, but it was kind of depressing last year before regionals, and last year we did Christmas there. We decided to just stick with it this year." Finn said from the back seat.

Kurt glanced over a Blaine, "It is a little weird, but I don't know we are a family and Mr. Shue is a part of it. Otherwise… yes it would be really weird."

As they made their way to Will's apartment, Kurt spoke quietly, " I put your name on the presents tonight. I know a few of the girls got you things, and I didn't want you to feel bad."

"But Kurt, you should have just told me I could have gone out and gotten something for them."

Kurt shook his head, "I just found out this morning when I was talking to Mercedes. It's no big deal, we are a couple and that is the advantage of being a couple."

Blaine held Kurt closer to his side and whispered in his ear, "Well then I am paying you back for some of them. And don't argue, if my name is on there, I should help pay since I didn't even help pick them out."

In the end, Kurt's friends pitched in together to by him two McQueen scarves he had been eyeing, while Blaine got different CD's and iTunes gift cards. The assortment of presents to his friend were well received. The two boys were never very far away from each other, not from nerves but just a need of physical contact. Neither enjoyed the days spent apart with only phone calls to get them by, so they drifted together through the part.

Blaine stayed the night at the Hummel home, tired from the long day, but glad to be alone together again they made their way upstairs to Kurt's room. They bid goodnight to Finn, as he went to the kitchen to find a snack, even though there was plenty of food at the party.

Blaine sunk deeply on to Kurt's bed sighing in contentment. He looked over in time to see Kurt locking the door.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Sorry this is a super short chapter, and you have waited a while for it, but things have been crazy trying to get back into the swing of a new school year. I promise to update again soon, and I will try and post another chapter for Starting Something New as well. There are two more scenes that need to be added to that. Things will also start to speed up a bit more I think as far as the timeline of the story. Anyway I hope you enjoy; please let me know what you think.**

When Kurt awoke the next morning he snuggled his face into the curls at the base of Blaine's head, taking in the smell of his own shampoo lingering there. He pulled Blaine's body closer to his chest, content to have his warmth pressed against him, a lovely new sensation in his comfortable bed. He felt a stirring in his arms, as Blaine began to wake. He kissed Blaine's neck, a feather light touch, causing the other man to shiver in delight before rolling over to face him.

"Good morning." Blaine said groggily.

"Morning. Are you sure you need to go back to Columbus today? I vote we stay here, and not move from this bed… ever." Kurt told him cupping his face with his fine delicate hand.

Blaine nuzzled his face into Kurt's hand saying, "I would love to, but it is Christmas Eve and I think both our families would kill us if we drove over 10 hours to Ohio and didn't spend it with them."

Eventually the two made it downstairs and enjoyed breakfast with Kurt's family. The rest of their time in Ohio was spent in a whirlwind of activity. Family gatherings and friends demanding their limited attention made it almost impossible for the two to get together after Blaine went back to Columbus. The phone calls continued, but they came later and later at night. Neither enjoyed their time apart. They were tired of feeling pulled in two different directions as their individual groups of friends insisted on monopolizing their time in Ohio; so they devised a plan. Blaine told the Warblers he promised Kurt he would go to the New Direction's New Year's Eve party. Kurt apologized to his friends, saying he told Blaine they could spend their first New Year's Eve with his friends. Instead, they really planned on celebrating on their own.

Blaine reserved a suite in a quiet hotel in Columbus for the couple. Kurt went bought all the ingredients for a romantic dinner for two. They met, and thoroughly engrossed themselves in the other for the evening.

When they woke the next morning, they exchanged Christmas presents, late, but alone. Blaine loved the beautiful scarf Kurt bought him, and the series of sketches he created just for him. As Kurt opened the small box, he creased his brow in confusion.

"A gift card?" he asked, trying not to reveal the hurt that was bubbling in his gut.

"Read the note." Blaine urged with a soft smile.

_Kurt, _

_I really wanted to get you the sewing machine and serger that you need next semester, but I knew you would kill me. So instead, I went and talked to the professor and asked her what else you would need for your class. When we get home you will find in my room a few bolts of cheap muslin and a complete sewing/design kit with everything I could think of that you would need. This gift card is to buy some fabulous fabric at Mood to create a Hummel Original. I love you, and I want to see you make beautiful things and follow your dreams. _

_Blaine_

Tears welled in Kurt's eyes as he finished reading the note. True, it wasn't what most people would call romantic, but it was so personal to Kurt. It wasn't the gift itself, although that was great, it was the love and encouragement behind it. Blaine believed in him. Kurt threw his arms around Blaine's neck, whispering thank you's and I love you's into his sensitive skin.

Two days later Kurt was loading his suitcases and two new boxes into the back of the Navigator. The boxes contained his brand new sewing Machine and Serger. After Christmas sales, and the cheap prices of the Midwest, meant Kurt got them for a steal, at nearly half the price he was expecting. With Burt working, Finn offered to go with Kurt to pick up Nick and Jeff before meeting Blaine in Columbus with their new (thankfully larger) rental car. Finn didn't even complain while helping transfer the luggage to the rental car, he just smiled his dopey smile watching Kurt greet his boyfriend.

Just before Kurt climbed in the rental, Finn pulled him aside. "Dude, I'm going to miss you. And… while it sucks not having you around… I'm happy for you. You know the thought of you with another dude… it was always a little weird to me… I mean I think it's great that you're gay and all… but I just couldn't picture it you know…" Kurt raised an eyebrow at Finn, trying his best not to be upset by what he was saying. "What I mean is… I'm glad you went to New York and met Blaine. He is a really great guy, and he make you smile. I like that. I'm glad you're happy." Finn finished, shuffling his feet and sticking his hands in his pockets.

Kurt's heart swelled at his words, and pulled him into a rare hug. Finn wrapped his arms around Kurt's shoulders squeezing back before smiling down at him saying, "Hopefully we will be in New York in May for nationals, but keep in touch okay."

Kurt promised, throwing his bother a smile before climbing into the front seat beside Blaine.

Once they arrived back at Hayden Hall, things seemed to speed up again. Classes were soon underway again, leaving Kurt swamped by all his school work, but he was happy to be back in the bustle of the city, close to the man he loved.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: I am so sorry for the long wait between chapters. First I was having horrible writer's block, and just when I had figured out where these boys were headed, my personal life got in the way. My husband was in the hospital and I just didn't have time to write it out. Everything is better now, so here it is. I promise there will not be the same kind of delay in the future. Thank you for your reviews alerts and favorites. They mean a lot to me. Please let me know what you think. I will try and update Starting Something New soon. I am very behind on that, but it is hard for me to write back to back smut, because I don't want to repeat myself. Well… I hope you like it. **

Kurt's new classes seemed set against him and having any quality time with Blaine. As January moved to February, Kurt had to content himself with Blaine merely being in the same room as he completed his workload. It wasn't that the work was hard, just time consuming. When Kurt wasn't writing a paper for his French or English classes, or working on problems for his math classes, he was either sewing or memorizing dialogue for his acting class. Many nights Kurt would be working on a new sewing technique for his construction class while Blaine watched his hands work with the machine. Kurt felt bad that their time was spent in such an unsatisfactory way, but saw no way around the problem.

As January melted into February, Kurt finally voiced his fears. "Blaine, I'm sorry we can't go out and do more. I know that this is not the way you want to spend your Friday night." Kurt murmured while completing yet another blind hem for class on Monday.

Blaine's eyes met his, Kurt was surprised to see an amused smile brighten them. "I'm here with you, where else would I want to be?"

Kurt shrugged, "I don't know… Nick and Jeff went to that club, I'm sure that would be more entertaining than sitting here watching me sew… all night… again."

Blaine stood up and crosses Kurt's dorm room, and wrapped him in his arms. "There is nowhere else I would rather be than with you. It doesn't matter to me if we have a fancy night out on the town, or sit in silence while you study. Plus I like watching you sew, the deep concentration… it's mesmerizing to watch. I can't wait to watch you create something fabulous. Besides, I love just being with you, I like that we can just be content being in the same room, not even having to say anything."

Kurt gave him a shy smile, "Well, when you put it that way… I love you."

A little over a week later, Blaine bounced into Kurt's dorm room as he was memorizing lines for a scene for acting class, startling the young man. "Blaine! What are you doing?" He asked with a laugh.

"Tuesday, your last class is over at noon right?" was Blaine's only response as he grabbed Kurt around the waist.

Kurt suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, "Yes, Blaine, it has been all semester, why?"

With a huge grin, Blaine said, "It's Valentine's Day silly, I have plans for us… big secret plans. I just wanted to make sure you would be there for them, it wouldn't be the same without you."

Kurt's face fell a bit, "Blaine, you know I don't have the money…"

But Blaine cut him off with a kiss. "I know, I don't want a present… I just want to spend the day with you. I have the best idea for the perfect, cheap day for us… are you in?" Blaine turned his puppy dog eyes on Kurt and began nuzzling his nose into Kurt's neck causing him to giggle.

"Fine, but for now would you help me run these lines?" Kurt said before handing a script over to Blaine. They worked the rest of the afternoon making sure Kurt was ready for his next scene in acting class.

Tuesday morning, Kurt made sure to dress ready for a day out for his boyfriend. He donned black skinny jeans and a tight red shirt. Feeling well put together, he made his way out to the common room to find Nick and Jeff gathering their things for their own day of classes. "Hey, Blaine and I are going out after classes, don't be alarmed if I don't come back tonight, I may crash in his dorm." He warned his sometimes over protective roommates.

He noticed the two exchanging knowing smiles before Nick responded, "We figured as much. Have fun today."

Kurt's classes seemed to creep by that day, he still had no better idea what Blaine had in-store for them. Blaine hadn't been at breakfast this morning, but Jeff explained that he was 'finalizing details' as Kurt sat down to his bowl of fresh fruit. When his math teacher finally dismissed them for the day, Kurt barely held in his sigh of relief and quickly made his way back to his dorm. When he entered Hayden hall, Kurt was pleasantly surprised to find Blaine waiting in the lobby for him.

"Hello gorgeous!" Blaine exclaimed, greeting Kurt with a soft loving kiss. "Ready for our grand day out?"

Kurt blushed, cursing himself for the giddy feeling Blaine could still elicit from him after all these months together with a simple comment. "Always… I am always ready to spend some time with you." He said with a shy smile filled with all his love for the other boy.

Blaine grabbed his hand and led him back out into the cold February day. As they made their way to the train station, Blaine explained a little of his plan. "I brought some soup to eat on the subway, a light lunch to hold us both over for later." He said patting his satchel.

Kurt still not one for riding the subway, having little need to go anywhere outside of walking distance to campus, squeezed Blaine's hand a little anxiously. "Where are we going that we need to ride the subway?" he asked, hoping his fear was not evident in his voice.

"Brooklyn, that is all you will get out of me right now. But I promise, it will be worth it." The subway ride was much better than Kurt thought it would be. Blaine's presence and the warm vegetable soup he was sipping on were wonderful distractions from the closed in feeling of the subway. When they finally emerged topside, in what Kurt could only assume to be Brooklyn, Kurt noticed Blaine take a moment to look around his surroundings, obviously trying to get his bearings.

"This way." He said with a smile taking Kurt's hand again and leading them toward a mass of storefronts. After a few blocks of taking in the assortment of businesses lining the street, the pair stopped in front of a small store with blacked out window's reading: 'Carla's Classic Clothes'. Kurt shot Blaine a confused look before being led into the surprisingly bright interior. Instead of natural light streaming in through the windows, bright lights flooded the space, which was filled with racks and racks of vintage designer clothes. Kurt's breath held for a moment as he took in his surroundings. Blaine broke him from his amazement saying, "My mom told me about this place, and I just knew you would love it. You are going to pick out an entire outfit for both of us."

"Blaine… really?" Kurt could only whisper.

"Really."

Kurt started looking through the racks, sneaking glances at the price tag. He nearly screamed when he saw how low the prices really were. It seemed here he could really get an entire outfit for less than a hundred dollars. His excitement renewed he began pulling pieces for both him and Blaine to try on. The woman working the store, Carla herself, gladly set up dressing rooms for the two men. Kurt was careful to explain which looks were for which man. Blaine beamed watching his boyfriend happily sort through the clothes.

Kurt insisted on Blaine trying on his outfits first, carefully detailing which pieces should go together. He sat and watched his boyfriend model each look, his happy smile never leaving his face. Kurt knew shopping was not one of Blaine's favorite activities, but nevertheless, he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. What Kurt didn't know, was that his own joy was fueling Blaine. He hadn't seen him look this relaxed and happy in almost a month. While trying on the clothes was fun too, what really gave Blaine his smile, was watching the fun it gave to Kurt.

Together they chose an outfit for Blaine, grey fitted slacks, a purple and grey plaid fitted shirt, purple suspenders and bowtie, and Black wing tipped shoes. It was the perfect mix of Blaine's style with a touch of classic Kurt thrown in. Blaine was surprised how much he liked the entire look.

Then it was Kurt's turn to model for his boyfriend. As he showed each completed look, he couldn't help but explain each piece and what drew him to it. There were so many things he had seen online, or in vintage issues of Vogue and other fashion magazines Kurt had collected over the years, that Kurt couldn't contain his excitement in seeing them and wearing them. Finally it was decided that they would buy a pair of tight pants that buckled up the entire length of each leg, paired with a fitted white shirt under a blacked corseted vest. In place of a tie, Kurt found a broach of a dagger cut from a beautiful blue stone. He also found a new pair of knee high boots, these with buckles instead of laces.

Just as they were about to check out, still wearing their finds, Kurt noticed Carla about to throw out what he knew was a piece from Alexander McQueen's first line. It was a ¾ length black coat with skull detailing on the buttons and lapel. Kurt knew this was a rare find and couldn't image why she wasn't attempting to sell it. "Excuse me, how much for the coat?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I can't sell this, the lining is almost completely ripped out." She answered almost sadly.

"So you are just going to throw it away?"

She shot him a disbelieving look, "I have to, no one wants a coat like that."

"If you are just going to throw it out, may I have it?" He asked almost sure that she would say no.

"Knock yourself out." Was all she said as she handed him the coat before giving the total to Blaine. For $150, the two were completely outfitted in beautiful designer clothes.

Kurt practically skipped out of the store carrying a bag full of his old clothes and the wonderful find of a coat. He spun on Blaine as soon as the door shut behind them. "I can't believe that place. Blaine, do you know that his coat alone could sell on e-bay for thousands of dollars? And I got it for free, with this class I can easily fix the coat… did you see the lining, it is silk with McQueen's signature skulls! This was the most amazing shopping trip ever. Thank you! I have to come back here. I can buy a whole outfit for the price I would normally pay for one scarf."

Blaine beamed at his boyfriend. "God, I love you. I love how excited you get about things. I am glad I have been able to give this to you. Now come on, time for dinner." They walked around Brooklyn a little longer before they found a small basement restaurant. Even though it was Valentine's day, it was still pretty early and the place was only sprinkled with a few couples. The restaurant was dimly lit with only the candle on the tables illuminating each couples faces. It felt intimate. Fresh garlic bread lay on the table, which they shared as they decided on what to eat. Kurt let all thought of calories, fat and cholesterol leave his mind as he ordered, wanting only to savor the feel and flavor of the evening. They talked quietly, holding hands as they ate.

"This has been… wonderful." Kurt told Blaine squeezing his hand.

"I always want to keep that smile on your face, Kurt Hummel. Always"

They shared a slice of cherry cheesecake for dessert. Kurt gazed into Blaine's eyes as he fed him another bite of cheesecake. He thought about everything: the day, the small moments they had shared together since October, how Blaine made him feel in every way, his mind body and soul. In that moment, Kurt knew he never wanted anything else. Fame and prestige meant nothing to him, if Blaine was not by his side. He knew that no matter what life threw at them, the stress of school, career, people's hatred, they meant nothing as long as he had Blaine.

Blaine startled him out of his reflection, "Penny for your thoughts." He said swiping his thumb along Kurt's cheek.

"I just love you… completely. I never thought I would feel this way about anyone. I never thought anyone could love me like you do." Blaine started to interrupt, but Kurt silenced him with a squeeze of his hand and a look. Knowing Kurt was not finished, Blaine fell back into silence. "This isn't about today, or this silly holiday… it's just you. I know it may seem soon… and if you don't feel the same, that's fine… but I never want to let this… us… go. You told me always… and I mean always… I will always love you because I can't imagine a day in my life without you in it. I don't want to fathom a life not loving you. I am yours completely forever and always Blaine Anderson. Even if you decide you don't want me you will always have my heart."

Blaine closed the space between the two, and just as their lips brushed together he whispered, "Never, Kurt. There will never be a time in this world where I will not want you. I love you, and the only way that will change is I love you more and more each moment. Always and forever." They closed the space, connecting their lips. The kiss was not different from the many they shared before, but each felt the power behind it, the love and commitment the other felt. While to an outside observer it was just like any other kiss, they knew it was deeper, making this moment last forever.

Hand in hand they made their way back to NYU, both knowing that their relationship had changed. A step had been taken forward, and neither ever wanted to look back.


	18. Chapter 18

After Valentine's Day, Kurt felt more content with their boring moments spent in his dorm room. He no longer felt he was boring Blaine or sentencing him to evenings of monotony, but rather that they were working together to achieve a future. As Kurt became more practiced with using his new machine and with the techniques he was learning in class, he could use the time to talk to Blaine once he was finished with his own homework.

They discussed the future, making plans, learning more about what each other wanted in life. Sometimes the conversations frightened Kurt by how real it all seemed. He never would have thought that at seventeen he would be planning a future with someone, especially not one he actually believed they could have. More and more he came to realize that age truly was just a number and it shouldn't matter that they were young, they just had longer to grow old together. This thought brought a smile to Kurt's face.

As March and spring break approached, Kurt enlisted Nick and Jeff's help in distracting Blaine. Blaine's birthday was March 23rd, the Friday of Spring Break, and Kurt needed at least part of the week to work on Blaine's present. Fortunately, Nick's grandparents owned a house in the Hamptons and had offered it to the boys to use. It took a lot of cajoling on everyone's part to convince Blaine to go and leave Kurt behind.

"Honey, you know that I promised Blythe I would work on our scene, she leaves on Wednesday night to fly to Texas for the weekend to visit her family. I can't get out of it. This is our mid-term. I will be fine her by myself. Go and have fun." Kurt urged for what felt like the hundredth time in two weeks. In reality, Kurt's scene with Blythe was already perfect, but Kurt was great at keeping up the rouse, even enlisting Blythe to fumble through the scene when Blaine came to watch them practice.

"But it won't be the same without you." Blaine whined nuzzling into Kurt's neck. "Think about it, we could trick Nick and Jeff out for the day, and have the whole house to ourselves. Think of all that we could do."

Kurt moaned, "That is not fair Mr. Anderson. But sexy times will have to wait, I really can't get away. I'll make a deal with you, you go and have an amazing time in the Hamptons with Nick and Jeff Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then come home Thursday and you will be all mine until they get back in on Sunday. I will even plan a special birthday treat for you."

"But I would rather spend all week with you." Blaine muttered against Kurt's neck.

Kurt smiled sadly at him, "I know me too. But I promise next year, I will make sure you have me all of spring break, wherever you want me."

Blaine smiled, "Well as long as you promise. I really should spend some time with Nick and Jeff, I have been neglecting them as of late. Fine, but I am coming home first thing Thursday morning."

Kurt did an internal happy dance that his plan was going to work, before kissing Blaine soundly on the lips.

Kurt spent the beginning of spring break enjoying the quiet of the dorms to work on Blaine's present. Monday he ventured to Mood to find the perfect fabric for an entire outfit for Blaine. He didn't use the gift card, rather using part of his savings. It felt almost like a dream actually being in the building he had seen so many times of TV.

Kurt work tirelessly perfecting the construction of his design. Perfecting the fit by comparing each piece to things Blaine already owned that he knew fit just right. It was long hard work, but by Wednesday morning everything was finished. Kurt's first true design was done and ready to be worn by the man he loved. He pressed the lovely garments and gently hung them in a garment bag which he placed in his closet. In 24 hours, Blaine would be back in Kurt's arms. Kurt used his remaining time alone planning Blaine's birthday surprise.

By the time Blaine stepped through the door Thursday morning, Kurt's entire body was thrumming with excitement and nerves. This was the first opportunity he had to make a grand gesture to Blaine. Before Blaine was always surprising Kurt with romantic moments, leaving him feeling oh so special and loved. Now it was finally Kurt's turn.

"Honey, I'm home." Blaine called with a laugh as he entered Kurt's dorm. His breath caught in his throat as he took in the changes to his surroundings. The overhead lights were off, only white Christmas lights handing from the ceiling adding any light to the otherwise windowless common room. The clutter that Blaine knew was left before the three boys left for the Hamptons was gone. Instead a silky red cloth covered the table, flameless tea lights arranged in the middle.

Kurt walked in dressed impeccably in all black except for a red scarf tied around his neck. "Happy Birthday" he all but whispered.

The smile that broke out on Blaine's face as he crossed the room engulfing Kurt in his arms, was all Kurt needed to know he had done well.

"I know your birthday isn't really until tomorrow, but I couldn't have you stay away longer than I needed to get everything done. So I thought we could start celebrating early." Kurt told him, leading Blaine back to the table and sitting him in a chair. "First, I need to go get your present then we are going out."

Blaine sat staring at Kurt's door as he walked back into his room, returning with a black garment bag. "Open it." Kurt said anxiously.

Kurt held his breath as he watched Blaine slowly raise the zipper on the garment bag revealing its contents. First Blaine pulled out the jade green vest with silver accents Kurt had worked so hard on. Next he pulled out the grey shirt, followed by the black pants with subtle green and silver accents. "Did you get these from Carla's?" Blaine asked, "They are fantastic."

Kurt was surprised to feel the blush rise up on his cheeks. "No, you are the proud owner of the first pieces of Kurt Hummel's as yet unnamed line."

"What? Really?" Blaine exclaimed. "Kurt these are wonderful! I am so proud to wear these. When anyone asks, I am going to love telling them my wonderfully talented, not to mention loving, gorgeous, sexy boyfriend mad them for me."

Blaine pulled Kurt into a long tight embrace before meeting his lips in a kiss. Reluctantly Kurt pulled away, "Now go change, I have plans for you."

Kurt was pleased with how perfectly Blaine's outfit fit him, silently congratulating himself on the first phase completed fantastically. He led Blaine out into New York City. Kurt had researched the best cheap restaurants and found a small sushi place on the lower east side that would be perfect. They would have missed the little whole in the wall if Kurt hadn't known exactly where to look. They shared various rolls in the quiet atmosphere before enjoying free coconut ice cream when Kurt mentioned it was Blaine's birthday.

They spent the rest of the day watching street performers and visiting museums, before heading back to the dorms. The day was perfect, romantic and Kurt's wallet was only $40 lighter. As they walked through Washington Square Park, Blaine tugged Kurt to sit down on a bench.

"Kurt today has been wonderful. I don't think I have ever had a better birthday." He said leaning his head on Kurt's shoulder.

"Well it isn't over yet, we still have all weekend alone." Kurt said kissing the top of his head.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Blaine surprised Kurt by saying.

"Okay."

"We are both taking summer school and… Nick and Jeff are going back to Ohio for the summer." Kurt nodded not sure where this conversation was going. "And next year we have to move out of Hayden since it is only for Freshmen." Kurt knew this too. "Kurt, I want to share a dorm with you this summer and next year." Blaine finished flatly, as if afraid Kurt would say no.

Kurt took a moment to think. If he was honest with himself, he was relieved Blaine had said something. Kurt wanted nothing more than to not have to part with Blaine even to sleep. On the other hand, they had only been together five months. "Yeah, okay… me too." Kurt blurted.

"Okay?" Blaine asked finally looking at Kurt again.

"Okay. Let's do it. I mean, I love you Blaine and I meant what I said before. I will always love you. And to be able to spend our nights together… yes, I want nothing more." Kurt said, tears forming in his eyes.

Blaine's smile widened, "Great, oh my god Kurt, this is great. I love you. Now let's go back to your room."

The rest of the weekend the two never left the dorm room, except when hunger for food became too overpowering. Then they only left long enough to grab a bite to eat from the cafeteria before heading back up stairs. It was with a little heartache they accepted Nick and Jeff back on Sunday. They spent the day celebrating Blaine's birthday with their friends.

Sunday they also learned Kurt would be seeing his friends in about six weeks, the New Directions had won Regionals earning them a spot at Nationals. Monday as soon as the housing office was open Kurt and Blaine entered hand in hand, to place their request for a room together for summer session in Hayden, and another for the next year. Smiles on their faces, they both felt excited at this new development.


	19. Chapter 19

**This story is quickly drawing to an end (well quickly if I can find the time to write it). There will be one more chapter and an epilogue, and that is it. Sorry the updates have been slow, I have been working on trying to help get a web series up and running and that has added to the craziness that is my life. I have a couple of more stories floating around in my crazy Klaine Brain, so expect to hear some more from me after this story. I will try to have the last 2 chapters up for Starting Something New (the SMUT) ups soon as well. Thanks for your support, and please let me know what you think!**

School was a whirlwind of activity, all four Ohioans rushed around finishing projects and papers as the semester began to draw to a close. Before any of them knew it, Kurt was heading to the Hilton Time Square to meet his friends. Nationals was now upon them and New Directions was once again in New York. This time however, Kurt Hummel was there too. Kurt helped the group by booking a theatre in Tisch for them to rehearse in and was going to meet them and give the group a tour of NYU before heading to the theatre.

He walked hand in hand with Blaine to the hotel after their last class of the day. Kurt was nearly bouncing with excitement to see his friends, but more importantly to see his friends in his new home. As they entered the lobby a wave of noise greeted them as the glee club noticed them enter. Kurt and Blaine were soon swept up in hugs and pats on the back by the excited group. After a few minutes Kurt called out to the group, "Okay, okay… I missed you too, but if we don't leave now we won't have time for a tour of campus before we have to be at Tisch."

The tour was mainly a brief over view of the campus since only Rachel of the group would be attending NYU in the Fall. Mercedes surprised Kurt with the announcement that she had been accepted to the design program at Parson's. Kurt was excited at the idea of his two best friends moving to New York soon.

Nick and Jeff joined them at Tisch to offer support and critique before the competition the following day. Once rehearsal was over, the four NYU students lead the group back to their hotel.

The next morning, Kurt and Blaine for the first time skipped class to support their friends. Of course being the responsible students they were, they had already cleared the absence with their professors before hand, receiving their assignments early.

Kurt thought the performance would be bittersweet, but really he was just happy to see his friends onstage having fun and doing an impressive job. Watching them was only marginally better than watching the other groups, he just knew that the New Directions part of his life was over. He was proud of them, but not really a part of them anymore. His life was now here in New York, with Blaine beside him.

The group won, to the surprise of all. Kurt and Blaine offered to take them out so they could celebrate. Kurt found a nice cheap restaurant to take the group to. They sat around laughing and talking as they ate. When the meal was finished Kurt was not at all surprised to see Rachel stand ready to address the group.

"I just have a couple of things to say. First of all, I am glad that the show choir world has finally recognized my… I mean our talent. Second, Kurt," Kurt's eyes widened at the mention of his name. "We all wanted to let you know that even though you have left us, you are still apart of us. Now Finn told us that you would be staying in New York for the summer and we were all upset that you would not make it home for our graduation so… we all pitched in to buy round trip tickets for you and Blaine to come home for the weekend of McKinley's graduation. This is our birthday present to you. We all started together and it just wouldn't be right for you not to be there in the end. Please accept them."

Kurt sat in stunned silence looking at his old high school friends. It took a moment for everything to sink in before he spoke. "Thank you guys, it means a lot to me to be there for you."

After another day of sightseeing on Saturday led by Kurt and Blaine, the New Directions made it back to Lima.

In a whirlwind the last two weeks of school came and went, leaving Kurt in a daze that it was all done. He had no idea how it could possibly be May already. He couldn't believe he had been in New York almost 10 months. He couldn't believe that in just one short day it would be his birthday.

Eighteen, the landmark age where you are magically an adult, the age where you have to take responsibility, finally after over a year of acting the part, Kurt was going to really be it. Rather than surprise Kurt, Blaine talked with him about what he wanted to do for his birthday. The Jazz club, the one Blaine had first invited him to join, that was where he wanted to go.

So Friday night found Kurt making his way to the dimly lit Jazz Club with Blaine, Nick and Jeff. They would be meeting a few of Kurt's friends from his classes and Kurt was giddy with excitement. They stood in line waiting for the bouncer to check ID's and let people into the club, Kurt squeezed his boyfriend's hand bouncing on his heels.

"Excited?" Blaine asked, returning the squeeze.

"Very." Kurt almost squealed, "It's my birthday, I get to go out with some great friends, and I get to spend it with my amazing boyfriend!"

As they reached the door, the bouncer eyed Kurt up and down, "ID please." He said in a rough voice, clearly thinking he was about to catch some high schooler trying to sneak in for a little fun. Kurt whipped out his IDs, both his Driver's license and his NYU student ID and showed them to the large man in front of him.

The bouncer eyed the two cards for a moment before giving a deep chuckle, "Happy birthday kid, enjoy your night."

And Kurt did, the music was fantastic and Kurt get to talk to all his friends. Blaine was by his side almost the entire time. Kurt was practically glowing his was so happy. Blythe brought a birthday cake for them to share, and while the band took a break they all sang 'Happy Birthday' to Kurt as the candles burned lower and lower dripping multicolored wax on top to the cake. Kurt leaned over to blow out the candles, thinking hard about what to wish for. Right then, he was surrounded by friends, he would be going home to visit in a week, and he has found what he knew was the love of his life. He took a deep breath and thought, 'Please let life always be this perfect', and then blew the candles out in one breath.

As Kurt was taking the last bite of his cake, arms wrap around his waist. Feeling the familiar weight of Blaine, Kurt leaned back into the embrace. "Dance with me." Blaine whispered in his ear just as the band finished an upbeat number.

Blaine led Kurt to the dance floor right in front of the band, as the singer stepped back up to the mic. "This next song is a special request. Today Kurt is celebrating his birthday with us, Happy Birthday Kurt, and this song goes out to you, from Blaine."

Music started again, piano joined by horns slow but bouncy. Blaine placed his chin on Kurt shoulder singing quietly in his ear, his voice soft but clear. Moving gracefully to the music, tears sprang to Kurt eyes as he listened to Blaine sing as they danced.

_I can only give you love that last forever _

_And a promise to be near each time you call, _

_And the only heart I own _

_For you and you alone, _

_That's all, that's all_

They continued to move, Blaine's voice never faltering in Kurt's ear, oblivious to the world around them. Kurt felt, not for the first time, that he was right where he belonged. Kurt didn't hear the woman singing on stage, he didn't feel the other bodies moving around them, he only heard and saw Blaine. They were the only ones that mattered in that moment.

_If you're wondering what I'm asking in return dear,_

_You'll be glad to know that my demands are small_

_Say it's me that you'll adore_

_For now and ever more_

_That's all, that's all_

The song ended, but the two boys did not move from their position. They stood held in their dancing embrace as the crowd around them clapped for the band. They did not move as the band moved on to another song. Kurt held tightly to Blaine as he whispered in his ear, "God I adore you, I love you forever."

Their lips met in a slow passionate kiss, as the room danced around them, mindless of their friends catcalls and cheers.

When they made it back to the dorms, they parted from their friends for the night, and went back to Blaine's room, ready to shower each other with love and affection.

**The song used above was That's All by Nat King Cole. Darren mentioned it as the greatest love song, after listening to it, I have to agree. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Wow so 2 updates in one day. I hope that makes up for my previous silence. This chapter turned out a lot shorter than I thought it would. But here it is. Just the epilogue left. I hope you have enjoyed the story. The epilogue should be up soon. **

The week before Kurt was to return to Lima for his friends' graduation was filled with packing and moving. The 3 boys in 1032 blared music throughout the dorm as they packed boxes and bags getting ready to separate, knowing they would not be suitemates again. Jeff and Nick were heading back to Ohio for the summer and Kurt was moving one floor up to a double with Blaine. In August they would all be moving to Broome Street Residential. Nick and Jeff, like Kurt and Blaine would be sharing a 2 person studio apartment on the same floor.

Kurt was just placing the last of his things in a box on Wednesday when Blaine knocked on the suite door. Jeff opened the door, greeting Blaine with a hug. "Are you just about finished?" Blaine asked turning to Kurt.

"Just about, why?"

Blaine smiled his brightest, "I just got my key for our room, thought you might want to see it together."

Kurt immediately jumped up, trying to suppress a squeal as he did. Rushing to Blaine, he almost pulled him out of the door.

"Excited?" Blaine chuckled.

Kurt slowed down a little, facing Blaine as they walked to the elevator. "Of course I am, after today, I won't have to leave you to go back to my dorm. We can sleep together every night if we want. I can wake up to you every morning. Aren't you excited?"

Blaine motioned to the open elevator and followed him in before answering. "I am more excited for all that than I can tell you." They shared gentle kisses as the elevator rose to the 14th floor. When the doors opened they finally parted before moving toward room 1450. Blaine slid his key in the lock and just as he opened it, Kurt swept him off his feet, literally. Kurt grabbed Blaine around his waist, placing his other arm under his knees pulling him into a bridal lift, before carrying him into their new dorm room.

"Kurt, put me down, what are you doing?" Blaine laughed.

Kurt kissed his nose before answering, "Isn't this what you are supposed to do when you move in with the one you love?"

"I think it is more reserved for wedding nights." Blaine said tightening his hold on Kurt's neck.

Kurt walked him over to one of the bare beds in the room, and laid him gently down, "We could always pretend." Kurt winked.

"Then you should probably lock the door," Nick guffawed from the doorway, where he stood with Jeff, "Or you know at least close it."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "And here I thought we were done being interrupted by these two."

Nick and Jeff helped the couple move their things into their new room. The next morning they returned the favor loading their boxes in the U-haul they had rented to drive back to Ohio. They all hugged goodbye before Nick and Jeff drove away.

Two days later found Kurt and Blaine at the airport ready to board the plane to head back as well. Kurt sat nervously twisting the Skymall magazine in his hand, while waiting for the plane to move.

"What's wrong?" Blaine said taking one of Kurt's hands in his own.

Kurt gave him a half smile, "A little nervous, I've never flown before and… what if I don't like it? What if something happens?"

Blaine squeezed his hand once more, "Everything will be fine, I'm here, and flying can be fun."

Kurt tried to return his gentle smile, but couldn't quite make it. Kurt tried to ignore the flight attendants' instructions, not wanting to think about the possibility of something going wrong. In the end Kurt relaxed once the plane took off and less than two hours later the plane was landing in Columbus.

Tim and Beverly were waiting for them at the luggage carousel ready to spend the afternoon with them before taking them to Lima where they would be spending the rest of the weekend.

"Blaine, Kurt!" Beverly yelled, rushing to them before bringing them into a hug. "It is so good to see both of you!"

"Let them breathe Bev, they have barely touched down." Tim chuckled before giving each of them a quick hug.

The afternoon was spent getting lunch and Beverly leading Kurt around the mall, followed by the Anderson men. That evening, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson drove them to the Hummel home for Friday Night Dinner. Beverly, Tim, Burt, Carole, Kurt, Blaine, Finn and Rachel all gathered around the table in the small dining room to share fresh salad, spaghetti and breadsticks. Finn and Rachel gushed about the end of the year festivities and their plans for the future. While Rachel was going to NYU, Finn had been accepted to Ohio State on a small football scholarship.

The next morning was a rush as the McKinley graduation was set to begin at eleven, meaning Finn needed to be there at ten. The whirlwind of activity reminded Kurt of how life was at the end of the semester, where it seemed like time rushed by. After dropping Finn off at the front of the school, the four made their way to the football field where the ceremony would take place. Other families had already started gathering. They found seats near Hiram and Leroy Berry who smiled kindly at the two boys holding hands next to them.

Kurt watched as many of his former classmates made their way onto the field. Being one of the youngest in the glee club, he would not have graduated until the following year, along with Tina. He watched as the rest filed into the seats set up. He thought back to what brought him here and what life would have been like if he would have stayed. He didn't want to think how miserable he would have been, or if he would have even survived two more years here in Lima. He watched his friends fidget in their seats as too many people made too long speeches he ignored. One by one they were called across the stage to receive the rolled up paper representing their accomplishment.

As Karofsky's name was called, Blaine needlessly squeezed his hand. Kurt no longer felt any fear of the man who once made him freeze in terror. Now he just saw him as another little man who couldn't handle how big the world really was. Part of Kurt wanted to thank him, because who knows if he ever would have meet Blaine if Karofsky hadn't run him out of school.

When he first sent in his application, Kurt never could have realized just how great his life would soon become. He was not only safe, but insanely happy. He had no regrets… just love.


	21. Chapter 21

Kurt hugged his father one last time, before pulling Blaine away from his own. "Let's go for a walk real quick." Kurt whispered in his ear. Both their families were in town for their graduations, after four years they both finally finished college.

So many things had change in the years since the two had met in that dorm room. After living together for two and a half years, Blaine's parents had bought them a small apartment in Soho as a combined Christmas/early graduation present for the two of them. Blaine fell in love with teaching children music, and decided to do just that, switching from performance to education just before their junior year.

Kurt wowed NYU audiences in several productions starting as the MC in _Cabaret_ but decided that fashion was his true calling. Starting in a few weeks he would be starting work at a small up and coming fashion house. It was a risk, but Kurt knew this was exactly what he wanted to do.

The two waved goodbye to their families promising they would meet them at the restaurant in an hour for their reservations. All week they had been hosting both families, except Finn who was enjoying being in the same state as his girl friend. They really hadn't had much time alone together.

They walked hand in hand across campus, just enjoying the quiet ease they felt with each other. Kurt led them into Washington Square Park and sat them on a bench not far off the path.

Blaine looked over to Kurt mild confusion in his eyes, "Shouldn't we head to the restuant?"

"Not yet, there's something I want to say first." Kurt began before turning and facing Blaine, taking both his hands. "Right here, is where I met you almost four years ago. I don't really count the brief encounter in the dorm… well, because this is where I first really saw you. I was alone and scared and just ready to give up on people. I was ready to just be lonely. And you came up to me, you made me see that there were good people, kind loving people."

Blaine squeezed his hand and opened his mouth to speak when Kurt slid off the bench onto one knee in front of him. Blaine's mouth snapped shut and his heart began to race.

"I love you Blaine, more than anyone or anything else in this world. From the moment you helped me stop being afraid to care, to hope, I started to love you. You mean the world to me. I know we're young and most would say we are foolish since this is both our first relationship and we should take more time. But we have been together and lived together for so long. I just… I want more. I want to be more for you. I don't want to just be your boyfriend. You are my all, my love, my life and I… I just want you to be my husband. Blaine Anderson, would you make me the happiest man ever and marry me?"

A single tear rolled down Kurt's cheek, Blaine swiped it away with his thumb cupping his face in his hands, not even looking down at the ring sitting in Kurt's outstretched hand. No, Blaine's eyes never left Kurt's stormy eyes. "Kurt, nothing, and I mean nothing… could keep me from marrying you. Yes, please… yes!" He fell into Kurt arms, kissing each other anywhere they could reach. Their laughter and 'I love you's' seemed to fill the space. A few people stopped to watch the two men, clearly in love embrace before moving on with their day.

After a few minutes, Kurt finally pulled back, "Aren't you going to look at your ring?" he asked holding the box up again. Blaine nodded and waited for Kurt to open the box. Inside nestled in the black velvet of the box was white gold band, made of two bands intertwining around a third. "I designed it myself," Kurt said sheepishly, "I have one too. The band in the middle is our love, what we found in each other, our forever. The other two bands are our lives. No matter what life throws at us, or what happens, as long as we hold on to our love we will be just fine."

"It's beautiful!" Blaine gasped as Kurt slipped it onto his finger before kissing it where it lay.

"Now," Kurt said rising from the ground and holding his hand out for Blaine. "I think our families are waiting for a celebration."

"Do they know?" Blaine asked standing again.

"You didn't think I would ask you without asking your father's permission did you?" Kurt smiled before taking his fiancé's and leading him away.

Yes, a lot had change and that was just wonderful.

**So that's the end. I will try and update Starting Something New ASAP. I hope you like the story. I would love to hear your final thoughts on everything. If you like what I write, I promise I will be back with more stories soon. Thanks again for all your support. **


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